The Letters To Yangchen
by crazy4purple23
Summary: This is the memoir of Rika, a childhood friend of Avatar Yangchen's. Rika's tale finds her at a pivotal point in the history of the Water Tribe that will test her bravery and friendship with her cousin, Arin, and the future avatar. updated 7/25/11
1. Chapter 1

Well, this is my story. It takes place c.500 years before Aang, so obviously certain things about the Avatar world as we know it will be different. I hope you enjoy it :)

**The Letters to Yangchen, A Memoir**

I. South Pole

1.

Being old gives one a lot of time to think. All this thinking, over years and years, and only now have I finally been able to really decide, to pinpoint, the very day, the very memory, when my life really began. Not the day I was born. No one can remember that, but the day that changed my life forever. The day I met Yangchen. It is one of my most vivid childhood memories, two weeks after my ninth birthday, and one week until the winter solstice during the coldest time of the year.

The sky was dark, even in the late afternoon, and the entire palace courtyard was covered in a sheet of snow. Everything was still, as if the whole world had hibernated for the winter, sleeping away the freezing endless nights. In the middle of that courtyard was the fountain. It seemed massive to me, back then; deeper than I was tall, and the top where the water bubbled out seemed to be too high for me to see, disappearing into the thick grey clouds. However, despite the frozen tundra around it, the water still flowed. It was powered by hot coals which kept the water warm enough to prevent it from being solidified into a huge grey block. The temperature was freezing, with a bone piercing wind chill.

I followed Arin into the courtyard. Both of us tottering on over-layered legs and too long parkas. Our legs sinking up to our knees in the fresh powdery snow. Our eyes and pink noses the were the only parts of our bodies exposed as we tumbled into the snow laughing. We leaned against the fountain to catch our breaths, giggling as our exhales froze instantly in the air as little white puffs. I could feel the icy air chilling my strained lungs. We both stood there, hunched over and panting.

"Okay," said Arin finally, "I've got one for you, Rika." I squinted at her from inside my fuzzy hood. It was difficult to distinguish her features in the flickering lamps.

"M'kay." I answered.

"You're not gonna be too wimpy, are ya?"

"Nope."

"You're not gonna act like a possum-chicken?"

"Nope."

"You promise?"

"Yup."

"Kay, then I dare you to take off your parka and mittens." She crossed her arms.

"No way!" I protested. "That's crazy!"

"You promised…" she reminded me. She stood up straight emphasizing the fact that she was two years old than me, thus making her two years smarter.

I took a deep breath.

"Fine." I said grudgingly. I pulled back my hood and began unbuttoning my soft, warm blue parka. I tossed it onto the ground next to me. I was not _that_ cold so I kept going. I took off my other two layers until I was down to just my thin undershirt.

"You don't have to do that—" but I ignored her. I took off my boots so my socks became instantly soaked with slush and my two layers of pants. I climbed up onto the fountain ledge wearing nothing but my undergarments then I removed my mittens and let them drop into the snow below. I bounced lightly on my chilled feet.

"I'm not even cold!" I said through shivering teeth that were gnashing together so violently I was afraid that they would crack. I felt as if my arms and legs were being poked with the quills of the porcupine-fish, and my feet were nothing but blocks of ice. "Ha, ha, ha!" I sang, dancing around the wide fountain ledge on my toes. "I win, I win!" Suddenly, a gust of win caught me in mid skip. I tried to regain my balance on the slippery icy surface, but instead I fell splashing loudly in the clear water of the fountain.

"Rika!" screamed Arin.

"I'm all right," I tried to choke out, but I felt as if my very vocal chords had frozen. I tried to kick, but my legs would not move. I reached weakly for the edge, but my numb fingers slipped. I felt a dizzy panic setting over me.

"Rika! Rika! Rika!" Arin shrieked. She clambered onto the fountain ledge and held out her hand. We made eye contact, and then it happened. Her pink tinged face seemed to go green as her breath caught in her lungs. She wheezed and her eyes seemed bulge. Her frantic gasping gave me a new burst of energy. I urged my legs to move and I gave one mighty kick propelling me to the edge. I clambered out and Arin and I tumbled down into the snow.

"Arin," I said as firmly as I could, "Arin, breathe. It's going to be okay." I shivered and she continued her rasping. "You can help me, calm down and waterbend the water off of me." I could see from her face that she _wanted_ to, yet at the same time, she had a resigned expression as if she were ready to succumb to the unknown force that was preventing her from breathing.

"_Please_," I urged her. I put my cold hands on her sweating face. She closed her eyes and raised a shaking hand. I felt the water flow off of me, the glistening drops freezing back into the snow. I immediately ran to grab my clothes. I shoved my damp clothes over my dry body, and, as soon as I had my overcoat on, felt remarkably warmer. Arin was no longer hyperventilating. She was lying quietly in the snow. I knelt by her. Her eyes were closed. I shook her arm.

"Arin, wake up, are you okay?" I whispered. She sat up opening her eyes. Her blue eyes seemed bright with confusion.

"Y-you're alright." She stammered.

"Yes, thanks to you."

"I'm so sorry, Rika," she took deep breaths reveling the renewed usage of her lungs.

"It's okay."

"Rika, Arin, what are you two doing out here in the snow?" my mother came out of nowhere.

"Nothing, Mom," I answered. We both straightened up.

"What happened? You two look horrible," Mother commented.

"Nothing, Auntie." Said Arin.

"Well, come with me, you both need to get cleaned up. We have important dinner guests coming." I could practically feel my insides writhing with curious anticipation. Who were these guests that were so significant that Arin and I had to clean up especially for them? We did not normally get travelers down at the bottom of the earth and even when we did, most of the time the adults did not want us around. The only child who was ever permitted was normally my older brother Kaito, who was seven years my senior. We were never very close as siblings. Arin was an only child, daughter of my uncle, the current chief of the Southern Water Tribe and she never grew tired of reminding me which one of us was the princess, and which one of us was the princess' lowly younger cousin.

Mother bustled us into the warm palace interior and we washed up and prepared ourselves for our guests. We bathed and got into our nicest dresses. I loved mine. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. My father had brought it back from the Earth Kingdom, and the swirling greens and browns were so different from anything I had ever worn. I felt so beautiful when I wore it, which was limited to very special occasions. I had not worn it in for several months and I was overjoyed that it still fit. I twirled and twirled in front of the mirror joyfully. Arin, in her plain blue gown, thought I was being immature. Mother told me that she was just jealous.

"Who do you think is visiting?" she asked I looked at her reflection in the mirror instead of turning around.

"I dunno. But I sure am excited." I curtsied, enjoying how lovely the greens complimented my dark skin.

"Oh, move out of the way, you're blocking _my_ mirror." I flounced out of the way and watched her preen herself. There was a knock on the door and my mother and aunt came in.

"Are you girls ready?" asked Auntie. We both nodded and followed them out. The corridors of the icy palace were surprisingly toasty. Bright fires crackled and reflected off the clear floor. I felt very elegant in my dress as if I were the princess, not Arin. Arin pouted.

The banquet room was very fancy. There were fancy ceramic bowls opposed to the wooden ones we normally used. Everyone's chair had a decorative cushion, and crystal glasses filled with a sweet smelling juice. My stomach grumbled. Mother showed Arin and me our seats at the end of the table and she and Auntie went to sit down at the other end of the table where the adults would sit. There were many places set, and I wondered when the guests would arrive. I began to grow bored of waiting. I played with the hem of my beautiful dress until Arin kicked me under the table.

I looked up to see the most interesting looking women I had ever seen.

They filed into the room in a perfectly straight line behind my father and uncle. There were six or seven of them, all tall and thin, with straight brown hair that fell to their waists. All of them wore loose fitting orange and yellow robes despite the freezing temperatures and they decorated themselves with carved-wood accessories. Their serene grey eyes seemed infinitely knowledgeable and they walked with so much grace it was almost if they were gliding. The tops of their heads, I noticed, was shaved revealing a intriguing blue arrow. My first thought was to giggle at the way it pointed to their nose and filled up their entire foreheads, but it had such a serious and powerful aura to it that the giggle stayed stuck in my throat. Arin kicked me again.

"It's rude to stare!" she hissed. I looked down at the lap as they took their seats.

"Who are they?" I asked her, but she did not answer for at that moment, the woman seated to the right of Uncle spoke.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, "but we needed to borrow a parka for our youngest member." She indicated the only empty place left at the table with an eloquent sweep of her hand.

"Oh, it is not a problem," chuckled Uncle, "honestly, I can't believe that you can stand this weather with what you are wearing." The woman's thin lips pressed together in a small smile.

"We thank you for your hospitality," she answered. "We don't normally travel all the way to the South Pole." Her voice was low and mellow sounding, yet it had an oddly powerful edge to it. It was mystifying to listen to.

"Finally!" exclaimed another one of the women staring past me at the doorway. I turned to see a scrawny girl in a too large parka trying to sneak in. She was one of the women, yet she was different. She had the same long straight hair (though hers seemed knotted and mangled) and I could see the same orange and yellow robes poking out from the bottom of the coat. She did not have the arrows or the wooden carved jewelry nor did she have that refined elegance like that of her superiors. She seemed a bit older than Arin, and I wondered why they had brought her along. She reminded me of the rabbit-swan. I had seen pictures of it in the library. As an infant it started out with ugly brown feathers, and too large clumsy feet—much like the girl walking with her head down to her seat. Then, when the rabbit-swan grows up, it becomes elegant, its feathers turn a pearly white, and its feet become proportionate to its body—like our visitors.

The girl bowed apologetically when she reached her seat.

"You may sit, Yangchen," said the woman who had spoken first. Yangchen sat wordlessly. Two servants brought out a large pot of soup and set it in the middle of the table.

"This is a special vegetable soup made especially for our visitors." Explained Uncle as the servants began ladling it into our bowls. It smelled magnificent. "If I understand correctly, you don't eat meat?"

"That would be correct." Answered the same woman, the one sitting on Uncle's right. "It is the custom of the Air Nomads to keep a vegetarian diet." I was confused.

"Wait, you don't look like the other Air Nomads who visited here before…" I blurted out. Everyone at the table stared at me and I blushed and looked at my lap. Arin kicked me for the third time. Surprisingly, a few of the Air Nomads laughed.

"The last time Air Nomads visited, they were from the Southern Air Temple," explained Uncle, "remember, niece? They were men. They visit once or twice a month but we don't normally have a fancy dinner for them. Usually they just deliver news about the rest of the world."

"Oh," I felt my cheeks burning with humiliation. "But you're all airbenders, right?" I tried to redeem myself.

"Yes," she answered with a smile. "We have traveled a very long way from the Western Air Temple." I nodded and then occupied myself with my warm soup to avoid any other discomfiture. It was very tasty and I tried my best not to slurp. The adults made conversation at the other end of the table and I did not pay attention. Yangchen, the young girl, looked nearly as bored as I felt. She was sitting next to Kaito, towards the middle of the table, several seats away from me.

Looking back, I wonder if, at that time, the other Air Nomads knew who she really was; who she would become. I wonder if anyone would have ever guessed that this scrawny child would become the powerful avatar, master of all four elements, responsible for balance in the world. I, of course, had no idea.

After some time, the adults allowed Arin and I to be excused from the table. Uncle sent us off with the explanation that the adults needed to talk about some "adult things." Arin pouted, but I was eager to get away from the table.

"Take Yangchen with you," commanded the Air Nomad who had answered my question earlier. I had concluded that she was the head of the little group. Yangchen hopped up with a small burst of air and followed Arin and me out of the room. We headed into Arin's and my room in silence.

"So," said Arin when we got there, "you're an airbender?"

"Yep," answered Yangchen, and she sent a gust of air at the mirror just to prove it.

"Well, I'm a waterbender." Bragged Arin.

"Congratulations,"

"Hey, if you're an airbender, then why do you not got those tattoos?" I asked.

"Don't _have_ any tattoos," corrected Arin.

"I don't _have_ them," she giggled, "because I'm still a kid, like you guys. I'll get them when I'm an adult."

"How old are you?" I asked her.

"Eleven."

"Oh, I'm eleven too!" exclaimed Arin. "And Rika's just a little kid. She's only nine."

"Hey!" I protested. "I'm not that little." Yangchen smiled.

"I know." She said. "How do you guys live down here? It's freezing?"

"I guess we're just used to it." I shrugged. "Though I almost froze to death today."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I had to save her," said Arin. I rolled my eyes but I did not have the heart to contradict her.

"Though, it may be cold here, but it's much colder in the North Pole." Said Yangchen.

"You've been to the North Pole?" Arin looked astounded. Yangchen nodded in response.

"We were just there before we came here. Their feast wasn't as good as the one we just ate. They tried to give us fish."

"Wow…" Arin tried to look sympathetic.

"And after we ate they made me talk to this horrible boy, who was really irritating. Not like you guys. I like you two." She grinned and I grinned in response proudly. "Unfortunately, we're probably going to be leaving in the morning."

"Aww…that stinks." I said. "Do you think you're ever going to come back?"

"How am I supposed to know? I just go where Kelisiting tells me." She giggled. "But as I said before, I like you guys, so I've got a crazy idea."

"Tell us!" Arin urged her.

"Okay, so, you can read and write, right?"

"Yes! I'm eleven years old."

"Just checking, anyway, you know how your dad mentioned that monks from the Southern Air Temple visit once or twice a month?" Arin and I nodded. "Well, after they visit you, they travel around and then they come and visit me. We could keep in contact if whenever they visit if you give them a letter—a written message—and tell them to give it to me. Trust me, they know who I am." She giggled again. "And when I get yours, I'll give them one to bring to you and we could keep it up so then we always know what's going on with the others." There was silence when she finished as Arin and I mulled the idea over.

"That sounds interesting…" said Arin after a few moments.

"So, you'll write to me?" asked Yangchen. Arin nodded.

"Me too!" I added. Yangchen laughed.

"Of course." Yangchen bowed as if to seal the deal. Arin and I followed suit.

* * *

_Avatar belongs to Viacom, and Nick. Not me!_


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! They really mean a lot to me :)

2.

Nothing brings a smile to my face more than seeing my old letters. I take them out of the old dusty box, with their faded yellow parchment, and lightly trace my fingers over my childish handwriting. They bring me back to those time that my old mind is straining to remember. Times when I believed that boys were too smelly to play with, and when my older cousin was the most important person in the world—next to my mother and father of course. Times when I was just a little girl from the Southern Water Tribe, and I would have been happy to stay that way forever. I find the first letter I ever wrote to her and I feel myself being whisked back all those years.

It was ten days after Yangchen left with the other airbenders and three days after the Winter Solstice. I always enjoyed the Winter Solstice. It was such a joyous time of year, despite the fact that the weather was nearly unbearable. However, that day we were stuck inside due to a terribly raging blizzard. Naturally, Arin and I were practically dying with boredom. We sat in our room silently, with nothing better to do than to play a guessing game, taking turns guessing what the other had in mind. When we had exhausted our minds of everything we could think of, we both laid on our sleeping mats staring at the ceiling and listening to the wind whooshing against the sides of the palace. It was oddly comforting and distracted me from the chills running up and down my spine from the cold. I felt my mind drifting off and I felt as if my relaxed body was sinking down into my sleeping mat.

"You know what?" murmured Arin sleepily.

"What?"  
"When I'm the queen, I'm going to have a pet poodle-monkey that I can play with if we ever are snowed in with nothing to do."

"It's too cold for poodle-monkeys down here. They only live in the Earth Kingdom."

"Well, then I'll make a sweater for it." She yawned. "But now I'm so bored, I feel like I'm going to faint."

"Me too." I rolled over on my mat so I was facing her. She was still staring at the ceiling imagining poodle-monkey sweaters I guess. I rolled back over onto my back and closed my eyes.

"I wonder what Yangchen is doing now…" she asked breaking a silence that had lasted at least ten minutes.

"Why don't we write a letter to her?" I suggested.

"But, the monks are not coming for awhile."

"So? We haven't got anything better to do." I sat up. "I'll go get the parchment and pen and ink." I stood up stretching my limbs. I grabbed the necessary things from a room down the hall and ran back eagerly. Arin snatched them out of my hands.

"I'm writing." She said spreading the parchment out on her mat and opening the ink jar clumsily.

"Why can't I?" I protested.

"Because your handwriting is like a baby's. Yangchen won't be able to read it." I pouted. "I'll let you tell me some stuff to write." She added.

"Okay," I conceded reluctantly.

"_Yangchen_," Arin said aloud as she wrote, "_We are writing to you because there is such a large blizzard outside now that we have absolutely nothing to do. There is so much snow that we cannot even see anything outside._" She paused to look at me.

"Tell her about the Winter Solstice!"

"Okay, _Last week was the Winter Solstice. We had such a big feast and after the feast Mother let us go into the middle of the village for the festivities that last all night. Luckily it was clear that night! Anyway, we hope to hear from you soon, though we don't know when you will get this. From: Arin and Rika._" She looked at me expectantly. "What do you think?"

"It's kind of short." I said truthfully. "And why does your name go first?"

"Because I'm older and I'm the princess." She blew on the ink to help it to dry, and then rolled up the letter.

"What-cha gonna do with it?" I asked.

"I'm gonna keep it here until the monks come," she said going to the side of her room where her small wooden wardrobe stood. She opened the bottom drawer and put the letter in carefully. And that was that.

A few days later when the storm finally cleared out, I woke up with nothing to do. Arin, I learned from Auntie, was out practicing her waterbending, something that I could not take part in of course. I would have followed Auntie around as she did some household errands for she was a very interesting woman—much more interesting than I always found my own mother to be—but she, Mother, Father, Uncle, and several other adults who I recognized but could not name were in a special meeting. I looked for Kaito. Sometimes, when he had nothing else to do, he would take me out ice fishing but he was not around either. He was at warrior training. I wondered why he was there, for he never showed any interest in being a warrior in the past. I moped around the palace dragging my socks against the cold palace floors.

Eventually, my sulking found me back in Arin's and my room. I paced around my room counting my steps and imagining myself somewhere far away. I suppose what made me think of writing to her, was how envious I became. Envy…that was always an attribute of my personality that I could never be rid of, and I only came in terms with recently in my old age. I was jealous that she could fly all over the world with the other airbenders, and I was condemned to the bottom of the earth with nothing to do. I kicked the wardrobe angrily and sat down as tears sprang to my eyes from my soon-to-be-bruised foot. I knew I was being childish, but I still felt bad for myself. I plopped down onto the ground and stared straight ahead at the old wooden wardrobe drawer where Arin's letter sat. I opened the drawer quietly and removed the letter. I unrolled and read through the few short lines Arin had written. I found the whole thing disappointing. Arin—who had not even let me write!—had barely written a thing. I was sure that (even if my handwriting was bad) I could write more.

In new spirits, I ran down the hallway and grabbed some more parchment paper. I dashed back into my room and sat down on my mat spreading the parchment the way I saw Arin doing it. I grabbed the ink bottle and pen out of the drawer and put the end of the pen to my lips thinking.

_Yangchen,_

_Before, Arin wouldn't let me write anything. She said my handwriting was bad, but I think it's pretty good. Today was the most boring day ever which is why I'm writing. But don't think of yourself as just a distraction from my dull days! I'm also writing because I thought that Arin wrote too little on her letter. She didn't even begin to tell you the real details about the Winter Solstice…_

The weather was bitter cold and we had to wear so many layers that our fancy dresses were not even visible. The Winter Solstice has become extra important in the Southern Water Tribe because it also mark the day we celebrate the birthday of the last avatar to come from the South Pole—Avatar Ahnah. Of course, she lived more than six-hundred years ago, so her exact birthday is not quite known, but we celebrate it during the Winter Solstice anyway, to make two celebrations into one giant one. It was the first day I had been out of the house after many dull days indoors and I was eager to feel the biting winds against my nose.

Surprisingly, I did not get to go into the main part of the village much. My parents worried incessantly and normally I was restrained to the palace, and palace gardens (so to speak, there was not much growing in them!). I held Mother's hand as we walked out of my prison, the palace, and into the bright lights of the town. People bowed as we passed and we nodded in acknowledgement or waved. Arin ran ahead as if to show that she was too old to still need to hold Auntie's hand. Mother seemed to be happy that I still chose to hold her hand for she bought me a delicious and warm snack from a vendor.

Every year, in the center of the village, some of the older children that are finishing their schooling, but on a short play about Avatar Ahnah. It's the same play every year with minimal changes, but it was still enjoyable anyway. I loved how the avatar was always portrayed as beautiful and adventurous; traveling around the world doing good deeds for those in need. Maybe one day when I'm older, I'll be able to play the role in the play even though I did not go to schooling with the other children in the village. Arin and I were taught privately within the castle.

After the show was finished, there were the fireworks, brought all the way in from the Fire Nation just for the occasion. Bright bursts of flame in color in the sky were the most magnificent things I had ever seen. I covered my ears as they exploded up from the ground to sparkle and shine against the backdrop of a million different stars. I felt the heat from the torches fighting away the frigid air and I felt more content than I had ever been. Despite the daylong darkness, winter is my favorite time of year.

_…Next time you come, you should stay for a longer time. I'm sure that even though you've traveled all around the world, nowhere can compare with the South Pole when it comes to Winter Solstice Parties! Do you do anything where you live for celebrations? Anyway, I hope your travels are going well (though you'll probably be home again by the time you get this) and don't forget to write back!_

_--Rika. _

I finished my letter. I did not know much about letters but something told me that _that_ was how a letter should be written. I rolled it up and placed it underneath my mattress and sneakily replaced the ink bottle and pen.

I ended up writing many letters before we were visited by Air Nomads again about two weeks later. Some days I would have so much to write about, and other days I would just sigh at a blank roll of parchment feeling sad. I wanted to schooling to start again, because then I, like everyone else so it seemed, would be busy. My parents, and Aunt and Uncle seemed to be busy in meetings nearly everyday, and Arin was getting annoyed with me. She said I was too much of a baby to keep hanging out with her, and she would spend many days alone practicing her waterbending, or with a small group of other girls her age down in the village. I did not have very many friends. It was not that I was shy, but more that my parents were over-protective, and like I said earlier, would not let me out very much. Many days I found myself curled up with a book in my room. I had never had any interest in reading in the past, but something had woken up inside me creating an intense craving for reading. The reading helped me, increasing my vocabulary and my writing abilities which improved drastically over the years as I grew older and wiser.

_Yangchen,_

_I wonder if I'm boring you with the amount of times I've complained of boredom. Your life must be so exciting, traveling around the world! However, I'm writing today because finally I've had an opportunity out of the house. Mother got Kaito to take me with him fishing…_

"What is everyone talking about in the meetings?" I asked him as he paddled the small canoe out between icebergs. He took a break from paddling and the boat glided silently.

"I'm not entirely sure." He answered. I was shocked.

"But, you're sixteen, you're practically an adult!" I exclaimed.

"Practically, but not quite." He smiled and handed me my fishing pole. I had not fished in awhile, but I always considered myself to be good at it. We sat in silence for several minutes waiting for the fish to bite.

"Well," I finally broke the silence, "do you have any idea what it's about?"

"My you're persistent!" he laughed. "I do have a hunch…"

"Oh! Tell me!"

"You know the Northern Water Tribe, right?" I nodded eagerly. "Well, that's where the Air Nomads were before they visited here last month. After you and Arin left with that girl—"

"Yangchen,"

"Yes, after you, Arin, and Yangchen left, they made me leave as well, but I stuck around to listen." My eyes widened.

"You were eavesdropping? But, but you could have gotten in so much trouble!"

"I nearly did. I was so worried about it, that I did not hear much."

"Oh." I said with disappointment. "Then, what did you hear?"

"All I heard was that the chief of the Northern Water Tribe was angry at Uncle." He replied.

"And you don't know why?"

"No. I think they knew I was outside so I had to run for it." I did not want to sound pushy but I felt that there was more to the story than what he was telling me. I wanted to ask him if all the warrior training had something to do with it, but, I could see that he was not going to say anymore so I fished in silence.

…_You were just at the North Pole so maybe you know something…? I am absolutely dying with curiosity! Also, in case you want to know, we both caught four fish each. I know that you don't eat meat, but they were delicious. That is one of my favorite things about living at the castle, we have an excellent chef, and I have people to clean my room _for _me, not that I'm very messy in the first place though. Arin is though. Sometimes she's such a slob that I can't stand it, and both her mom and I beg her to tidy up just a tad before the maid comes. Well, that's all, and I know I've written this a million times but: don't forget to write back!_

_--Rika._

The day the Air Nomads came for the first time was a relatively warm one. Arin and I were outside. The sun had finally begun to return and we were enjoying one of the few daylight hours. We joyously pelted snowball at each other as the sun beams twinkled off the ice crystals surrounding us. Arin had an advantage because if ever she was unable to duck away from the snowball, she could waterbend it away from her whereas I had to stay on my toes unless I wanted a mouthful of snow. Her waterbending was improving, I noticed. I was actually quite impressed. She had never shown any real prowess at it, but she always gave her best and it was finally paying off.

We scampered across the sides of the palace hiding behind pillars and columns and laughing as we dove into the powdery snow. I could feel my toes getting wet and my mittens were already soaked. From my hiding place, I formed a ball with my numb fingers and peeked around at Arin. She was staring straight up at the grey sky with a confused look on her face. It was a perfect opportunity to catch her unawares! I hurled my snow-missile at her and watched as it soared through the air and hit her right on the buttons of her jacket.

"Yes! I got you, Arin!" I shouted punching my fist into the air, but she did not even seem to care. She wiped the snow off of her parka and continued staring. I approached her.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" I asked.

"There was something in the sky." She answered then dashed off. "It must be the Air Nomads!" I tore after her. We darted into the palace with our wet boots sliding on the sleek floors.

"Where are we going?" I called as I skidded around a corner.

"To go get our letter." She called behind over her shoulder. I paled. If Arin opened the drawer, she should see all the extra letters I had written. I knew she would not be happy when she saw that I had written so much without her. I finally caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder

"Wait," I panted. "How about you go get your mom and dad and tell them about the monks, and I'll get the letter." She stared at me for a moment then nodded. I sighed with relief. I ran the remaining distant to our room.

When I got there, I peeled off my wet mittens. I grabbed all of my letters and shoved them into my jacket. Then I took Arin's letter and folded it nicely. I paused for a moment to catch my breath again then set off. I nearly knocked into my parents, Auntie, Uncle, and Arin when I rounded a corner into the main atrium. Arin snatched the letter out of my hand.

"See? This is my letter." She waved it in the air. Auntie nodded.

"When did you see them fly over?" asked Uncle.

"About five minutes ago." Answered Arin. Auntie nodded again.

"They'll probably land in a half hour or so." She said. "They like flying over the glaciers. From my understanding, glaciers like the ones here are not found anywhere else in the world! Did you see how many there were?"

"Um…" Arin faltered. "Not that many, I think. Maybe two or three?" She glanced at me.

I shrugged and replied. "I didn't really see 'em."

"Well, girls, I think you should calm down for now." Said Uncle. The other adults agreed. "Why don't we pause to have a bite to eat in the meantime." It was not a suggestion, it was a nicely phrased order. I was tired out from playing in the snow and from the excitement about the monks, so taking a break to eat seemed nice. As a group we all walked into the informal dining room. That was where we usually ate. The dining room with the female Air Nomads was only for special occasions. Mother went and got Chef.

I always loved Chef. She was very old, almost like a grandmother, and always so amiable. She lived with her daughter and grandchildren in a small house nearby. Most of the time she was just sitting around the kitchen waiting eagerly for us to request a snack. Sometimes I would go and talk with her on my more boring days.

She quickly whipped up some warm stew and we all sat to chow down. The adults, sitting at one end, chatted amongst themselves quietly. I was not really listening. The letters bunched up in my jacket kept rustling and I hoped no one could hear them. They were also very itchy. I slurped my stew, ignoring the glares from Arin. It was very tasty. Like I said, Chef was the best.

"Father, Uncle, some men are here to see you." Kaito said, opening the door. Immediately Arin jumped up excitedly causing the table to shake and her half eaten stew bowl to tip. The two Air Nomads who stepped into the room were practically bowled over by her.

"As you can see, Arin is excited to see you." Chuckled Auntie as she helped me mop up the stew. The two Air Nomads looked bemused. They both seemed fairly young, one with a short dark mustache and both were bald. They had bright grey eyes and smooth tan skin. They carried wooden staffs with them that were similar to the ones that Yangchen and the others had.

"Well, I'm flattered." The Air Nomad with the mustache said grinning. Arin waved her letter like a flag.

"See this?" she inquired. The two Air Nomads nodded. "I know you guys travel around a lot so my friend Yangchen at the Western Air Temple said if I wrote her a letter you guys could take it to her so I wrote one and now I'm giving it to you." She said it all quickly without breathing. The two Air Nomads nodded for a moment, processing all that Arin had thrown at them.

"Wow." Said one. "And we just came down here to observe the glaciers, didn't we, Bae?" Bae, the Air Nomad with the mustache nodded.

"And to get a quick free meal," added Bae and the two laughed at their private joke.

"Come sit, our lovely chef just made stew of seaweeds." Said Uncle. "It's nothing fancy, but it's warm and delicious." The two Air Nomads glanced at each other for a moment then went to two of the open seats at the table. Chef fetched two bowls for them and poured them some soup.

"Do you two live at the Air Temples?" I asked. Bae shook his head.

"Nah, Bansi and I don't live anywhere." Said Bae. "We're Air _Nomads_," he emphasized the word 'nomad' "travel is in our blood."

"We were raised at the Northern Air Temple, though." Said Bansi.

"We're twin brothers." Continued Bae. "It's something that's very rare in the Air Temples…"

"Because everyone is raised as a huge family." Finished Bansi. "We could have other brothers, or even sisters, but the monks never let us know."

"They let us know because they have a funny superstition about twins or something. I don't remember. Do you Ban?"

"Nah, I barely remember a word they taught us back then." The two brothers laughed.

"This excellent soup, by the way." Said Bae and his mustache seemed to twitch when he smiled.

"I'll be sure to tell the chef that you liked it." Said Uncle smiling. "My nephew mentioned that you wanted to see me."

"Yeah, because we've got news from the North." Said Bansi. "The Chief of the Northern Water Tribe has become ill."

"Has he really?" commented Father. "Well, what goes around comes around." Uncle gave him a sharp look but the Air Nomads laughed.

"They had just diagnosed it when we were leaving." Added Bae. "It's nothing like the healers have ever seen."

"Is it a plague?" asked Aunt.

"No, more like a sort of long lasting thing." Bae answered. "But they don't know how long exactly, it'll last."

"But they know it's probably going to kill him in the end." Bansi put in. "Whether he's got two months or two years is what they're unsure about most."

"How horrible!" exclaimed Auntie.

"You mustn't forget that this is the man who wants to disrupt centuries and centuries of peace between the two Water Tribes." Uncle contradicted her gravely.

"He's probably got a wife in family who will be so sad without him." Said Auntie.

"Actually, from what we could understand, his wife died awhile back." Said Bae.

"And he's only got one son, and one grandson." Said Bansi.

"Did you two go meet with him?" asked Father.

Bansi answered, "Nah, we were only there for a few days, he was kind of busy or something."

"We didn't really want to anyway."

"But boy does he hate you guys doesn't, Ban?"

"Yeah, there were rallies and everything."

"We didn't stick around for much though, how many days were we there?"

"Only two or three, I think. We heard about the diagnosis the day we were leaving."

Uncle hid his annoyance and the brothers' tendency to tell the same story at the same time with a look of contemplation. Father looked amused. We sat in silence as a maid took away the empty bowls. Arin took this as a signal that the meal was over. She hopped up from her chair and asked if she could be excused. Uncle consented and she dashed off. I wanted to stay and listen to them talk. I was itching for information that no one wanted to tell me. However, I did make use of the moment away from Arin to address the two Air Nomads.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Bae and Mr. Bansi?" my voice was high and nervous as all the adults turned to face me.

"Yes?" Bae's mustache seemed to stretch across his entire face when he smiled.

"Well, you know how Arin had her letter, but I have some that I wanted to give to you to give to Yangchen at the Western Air Temple." I mumbled.

"Where are they?" asked Bansi? Embarrassed, I let all my letters tumble out of my jacket which amused all the adults. Bae stood to take the letters from me, and placed them in his pocket.

"You sure have written a lot." He commented. "I'll be sure to take them to her. Remember her, Ban?"

"Yeah, she was quite a character." The two laughed.

"But incredibly talented."

"A true prodigy."

"Really?" I asked. Yangchen had never mentioned any real talent. Then again, we had not had much time to talk.

"Last time we visited there, the women there had some of the students perform so new moves and such," explained Bansi, "she was practically the star of the show."

"And such a little, scrawny thing!" put in Bae. The two laughed. "I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear from you." In unison the two brothers stood.

"But I think it's best that we be going." Said Bansi.

"Thanks for the stew!" both bowed and Uncle and Father bowed in return. Seeing them leave filled me with renewed excitement that temporarily masked my biting curiosity. My family and I—with the absence of Arin, obviously—sat in silence for a few moments after they left until Father spoke,

"Well, that was something, wasn't it?"

We all laughed in response.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Of the many letters I received from Yangchen over the years, the most memorable was probably the first. I woke up each morning with renewed zeal thinking to myself that _today_ was the day. It had to be! The sun was beginning to shine more as spring quickly approached. We received more visitors than I was used to seeing, and from all over. However, none were the ones I was waiting for. During the wait, I wrote many more letters, but I promised myself that I would not send them until I got her letter first.

I did my best to find out more information on the situation with the North Pole, but I could never find out more than whether or not the chief still lived—which he did. I saw boats from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation come to our icy shores and men and women in such strange clothes look around in amazement at our small city. None of them stayed around for very long before meeting with my father. After that, I would not see them again until they left which was usually the next morning.

Auntie and Mother were not always included in these secret meetings. Whenever they were not, they took Arin and I out into the downtown area to walk around in the frosty sunlight. They showed us the smelly fish market and crowded shopping bazaars which sold furs and an interesting assortment of things. Sometimes Arin would see her friends from waterbending practice and leave me to have Auntie and Mother to myself. I never minded this, though. I always got a special present from them, like a new pair of boots or a new coat because Mother thought I was growing too fast and my clothes were too small. I did not really notice my ankles exposed on my pants or my toes poking my shoes. However, I appreciated the new clothes.

We received Yangchen's letter more than a month after we sent ours. I did not see the actual monks who brought it (which I found disappointing) but I found it on my pillow right before I was about to go to sleep. I started screaming with excitement.

"Is something the matter?" asked Arin walking into the room from the washroom.

"Look! Look!" I squealed shoving the paper into her face. She immediately snatched it from my grasp.

"Where'd you get it?" she demanded.

"I found it on my pillow."

She gave me a look as if she believed I was lying. "How d'you think it got there?"

"How'm I supposed to know? Maybe Dad put it there. Did you see any monks today?"

"I dunno, we've been getting so many visitors it hard to keep track." Arin glanced down at the unopened letter and then up at me. "You haven't even opened it yet." I nodded and she tore it open eagerly.

"Read it out loud!" I ordered.

"_Hi Arin and Rika_—hah! She put my name first!"

"Just read it!" I snapped.

"_I just got home to my room in the Western Air Temple. I'm exhausted! We spent the last week in the Eastern Air Temple and all day yesterday flying across the Earth Kingdom without any stops. The Eastern Air Temple was nice, but I prefer my home. Maybe one day you two could come visit it. I don't know the next time I'll be traveling around though. I hope I do soon!_" Arin stopped reading. "Wow, her handwriting is worse than yours."

"Is that it?" I asked.

"No, there's a little bit more at the bottom," said Arin. "_PS- I just got your letters, and I can't believe how much you wrote, Rika! I promise to write more next time._" Arin glared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I stared at my feet.

"I wrote some more letters after we wrote ours." I confessed. "I gave it to Bansi and Bae after you left." She sighed as if she was disappointed in me then handed me the letter. Despite the fact that she had barely written anything, I was still excited to write back. I read over the text for myself reveling in every word as if I could barely believe it was real. After all the waiting, there the letter was, all mine. I put the letter in my same hiding spot where I hid my letters.

Much to my pleasure, Yangchen kept her promise to write more. We received two letters from her about two weeks letter, and I had an opportunity to send my letters. I always kept the letters in the same place and with as few folds or creases as I could manage. Over time, Arin began to lose interest. She still wrote a letter or two, and would read them with me, but she did not have the same eagerness that I always possessed when the newest news of Yangchen's adventures came. No matter how trivial the things she would write about—playing pranks on her superiors or glider races with her friends—it always sounded more interesting than anything I ever wrote to her about.

Time passed and we continued our correspondence. I wrote to her about everything. It practically became a diary of everything I did. I always did wonder whether she really read everything I wrote, for I did write pages and pages of my dull daily life. I opened up to her revealing my innermost opinions that I would never dare to express to anyone else; how I was annoyed at Arin's bossiness, or tired of my mother's patronizing. I told her about my dreams of traveling around the world like her, or wishing that I could go to a normal schooling and meet some other children my age. I was lonely, and Yangchen seemed like my only real friend. It scares me now how little I really knew her.

We received visitors in waves. Some months we would get travelers coming and going nearly every day, and others we would not see anyone new for weeks. Of course, I rarely heard any of this news. What I did know was that, despite his illness, the chief still lived. I wondered what would happen when, or if, he finally died. I had long given up asking Mother for information, too. She knew almost as little as I did. Kaito was nearly always busy with his friends. On extra snowy days, Arin and I would try to guess what the must be talking about in those long secret meetings. We tried to come out with the most outrageous explanations we could think of from people living in a city underneath the ocean, to the Fire Nation attacking! As silly as we loved to be, we both knew that the truth was probably much more serious, and we wondered if it would have any effect on our lives as we knew them. It would, naturally, but it was too early to know that yet.

Despite how many visitors always came to see Uncle, there were always two I could rely on to see me.

By their third visit, Bansi and Bae had completely dropped the pretense of delivering word of the North Pole's status. They came even when they did not have any letters for me. After a year or so of their periodic visits, Mother became more comfortable with them I suppose for she let me roam around the city with them. When we became bored of that, they gave me rides on their gliders over the glaciers and ice bergs. Flying was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. It was so different from anything I had ever known, I felt dazed as the icy tundra whooshed by underneath me. I was on top of the glider, with either Bae or Bansi below underneath the light wood frame of the craft. I gripped tightly and let my hood fall back onto my shoulders as the icy air breezed through my hair and nipped at my face. Sometimes we brought some snacks and ate a picnic on a high icy ledge, or secluded icy island that I would not normally be able to reach. The two were always entertaining and filled my head with interesting stories of their adventures. Their tales gave me the same feelings of envy that Yangchen's letters always did. I always imagined myself as an airbender, too; being able to fly alongside them. I still wish that I could…

Two years passed in this manner. Nothing really interrupted the blissful continuum until the autumn I was eleven; right after Arin's fourteenth birthday. The days were starting to become shorter, and it was in the middle of one of the times we did not have very many foreigners coming to our home. I was maturing, as every girl does at one point. I had become a bit quieter and less loud spoken; able to refrain from blurting out things I would regret in favor of waiting and giving a more intelligent response. I was still writing to Yangchen of course, like I mentioned before but obviously I had not received one in some time, and my stack of letters to send was piling up.

I was in the middle of a tutoring session with Arin and Mother when Auntie burst into the room. She rushed up to my mother and began whispering in her ear. Our tutor seemed very disgruntled at having been interrupted. He was already uneasy enough with Mother loving to sit in, and now this rude disruption! I wondered what was so important that had gotten Auntie into such a frenzy. She whispered into Mother's ear and I tried to subtly eavesdrop, but I could not hear anything. I glanced at Arin to see if she could pick up anything, but her expression was as blank as mine. Even Tutor looked curious.

"Girls, continue with your lesson," said Mother. She stood up and exited the room with Auntie. I scooted my chair towards Arin's to fill the gap Mother had left.

"We've got to find out what that was about," I hissed from the corner of my mouth as Tutor read out loud from the book. Arin did not respond right away but her eyes were response enough. She disagreed. While Tutor droned on about the history of the Water Tribe or something Arin finally replied.

"Most definitely not." Her lips were barely moving. "If they wanted us to know, they would have told us." Tutor looked up from his reading and we feigned attention. Satisfied, he continued.

"More than four-hundred years ago, the Water Tribe of the South Pole was united by the great chief…"

"Aren't you a bit curious?" I asked looking straight ahead. "This could be big news."

"No, I'm not." I was sure that she was lying. I did not exchange any more words with her until our lesson was over. She strode out of the room and I had to run to catch up with her.

"Please!" I begged. "We must find out." But at that moment, a group of ferocious looking men walked through the doors of the palace and right in front of us. We froze in fear. Then I recognized my brother, Kaito. I called his name. He turned and smiled when he saw me. He took a quick glance at his other soldiers then quickly went up to me.

"Rika, what is it?" he said, peeking over his shoulder again.

"Kaito, what on earth is going on?" I asked. "Why do you and all the other warriors look like…" I faltered trying to think of the right words.

"Like you're ready for battle!" finished Arin.

"Yeah, you scared us half to death." I added. Arin nodded. Kaito looked around again. The soldiers had not moved. They seemed to be waiting for further instructions.

"Well, I'm not sure I should be telling you this…" he trailed off.

"Please!" pleaded Arin and I in unison. And she said she was not even curious…

"Okay," Kaito sighed, "but you can't tell anyone that you know. Especially not Mother and Father." We assured him that our lips were sealed and he continued. "The king of the North Pole has finally passed on."

"Passed on?"

"Yes, Rika, passed on as in died." Said Arin. "Don't be so dumb!" She turned to Kaito. "What does this mean for us?"

"We're not sure yet." Answered Kaito grimly. "We only received word of it a few hours ago, and we don't know how they're reacting. We can only prepare ourselves for the worst." Arin pursed her lips.

"Do you think they're going to attack?"

Kaito shrugged, "Better to be safe than sorry."

"Who're the adults in a meeting with now?" I inquired.

"Probably the Air Nomads who brought us the information, and maybe the head warrior. I'm not entirely sure."

"So, the Chief must have died last week." Said Arin, more to herself than to us, "I mean, if we got the news from Air Nomads. How long does it take to fly down here from there?" But Kaito could not answer. Another warrior was motioning for him to come join the others. With a apologetic expression he bade us farewell.

"C'mon, let's go sit down." I pulled Arin's arm. She looked rather pale and wore a dazed expressions as she stared at the warriors marching away. We headed to a quiet room not far away and sat down on giant wooden armchairs.

"What, what do you think's gonna happen?" Arin asked immediately.

"Nothing. Nothing is going to happen. Arin, breathe." I thought she would tell me that she did not need reminding but she nodded and focused on her deep breaths. She had not had an incident in awhile but the healers told us that it could—and would—return when we least expected it. That was the last thing we needed. What if the North Pole did attack?

I listened to her breathe. It was comforting. Nothing, nothing is going to happen. I repeated over and over in my head. Uncle and Father will not let it. As soon as the panic passed, the curiosity returned. I squirmed in my seat; not wanted to sit, but at the same time, not wanting to leave Arin. Every moment that passed seemed to bring me further and further away from the information I was dying to know.

"Hey, you wanna get something to eat?" I asked her finally breaking the silence. "I'm sure Chef would be glad to whip us up something. And eating will make you feel better." I did not know that to be true, but it sure sounded convincing. Arin nodded meekly and we walked together to the dining room. When we entered the dining room, we were greeted by Mother and Auntie. They were accompanied by two large warriors.

"Rika, Arin, where have you two been?" Auntie looked stressed as she asked us the question. "We've been looking all over for you."

"We've just been sitting around." I answered innocently. "Where have you been?"

"Some very…disturbing news has come from the North Pole." Explained Auntie. Her patronizing tone made me cringe. "We believe that we here in the South Pole might be in some danger." Arin and I stayed silent. Auntie bit her lower lip anxiously and glanced at Mother.

"This next week is going to be very tense." Mother continued. "So, for your best safety, you need to stay inside, and not disturb any of the warriors that are around the palace. Arin will be taking a break from her waterbending lessons, and your tutoring sessions will have to come to a short stop."

"I don't even want you two going into the courtyard." Added Auntie. I nodded taking this all in. I wondered why the death of the chief could lead to a war between the two Water Tribes, especially if the chief died of a sickness, but of course I could not ask.

Father and Uncle joined us for a meal. They seemed twice as stressed. They insisted they could not stay long, and talked in low voices to each other the entire time. The two warriors that had been with Mother and Auntie stood at the doorway of the dining room looking menacing. I wondered if they were some sort of special bodyguards.

The next couple days were some of the tensest days I had ever experienced. Warriors swarmed around the palace, but they did not make me feel safe. They made me feel gloomy, as if they were a bad omen. I did not see Father for nearly two days as he was always in meetings. I wanted to eavesdrop so badly, but I felt as if everyone in the palace was constantly watching me. I was even too stressed to write to Yangchen.

I spent much time staring out the windows to the tempting outdoors, and watching as peopled streamed in and out of palace property. Mostly, I saw men and women from the surrounding city and villages wanting to know what was going on. Occasionally, I would see Air Nomads—men and women as well—delivering more news. None of these caught my attention until on about the fifth day after Kaito told me the news when I saw them.

Warriors from the North Pole.

Despite the fact that they wore blue clothes, and had similar dark skin, they stood out as foreigners. Three of them, with their hair cropped short, long beards, and muscular arms. They did not wear any armor or have weapons so I assumed that they were probably very powerful waterbenders. They were walking swiftly, accompanied by two soldiers who I guessed were from the Earth Kingdom based on their green and brown outfits. Last in the group was a tall, pale man with large black sideburns and a black top-knot. He looked out of place and I guessed he must be from the Fire Nation. Was this the beginning of an attack? The North Pole men did not look like they were prepared for battle. Nonetheless, I was terrified. They approached the palace doors and were out of my vision from the window. I was torn whether to go see them at the door, or stay in the room where I believed it to be safe. My curiosity beat out my caution, and I dashed off.

I reached the main corridor and stopped right in my tracks. Father and Uncle were there greeting the visitors. I did not think they would want to see me there, so I stayed where I was, peeking around the side wall when I thought they would not see. The three warriors, the soldiers and the tall man all bowed to Father and Uncle who bowed in return. Father and Uncle were accompanied by a couple of our warriors who stood menacingly in the outskirts of the room. Uncle was talking to the warriors who were nodding in response. I could not hear them. All at once, they headed away. I counted to three in my head and started to follow them, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Rika!" I jumped and turned to see Arin behind me with her arms crossed.

"What?" I snapped.

"Were you going to eavesdrop on Father and Uncle and those visitors?" she asked accusingly. I hesitated before answering.

"Yes. I was. Don't try to stop me." I turned away from her and started walking.

"Wait!" she called but I did not stop. "I want to come with you." She caught up to me and added, "I have a funny feeling about this meeting. Like a premonition or something." I nodded solemnly. We ran as lightly as we could down the corridor until the group was back in our sight. We hid back around corners and tailed them surreptitiously until they reached the room they were having the meeting in. Mother and Auntie had joined them. When we were sure that no one else was coming, Arin and I sat outside with our ears pressed against the door listening.

I could hear chairs scraping on the floor as everyone sat down around what I presumed must be a table of some sorts. I had never been in this particular room. Finally, Uncle spoke.

"I am very sorry to hear about the passing of your chief," he sounded grave, but there was a small hint of malice in his tone.

"Yes, it was very unfortunate," came the answer. I assumed that this was one of the northern soldiers. "And naturally why we're here." He added. His voice was very sleek and made me think that a warrior was not his normal job. There was silence for a few moments after that. I envisioned Father and Uncle staring down the northern visitors.

"Come on now, we should get down to business," said a gruff sounding voice. "No hostile feelings." That must be the man from the Fire Nation, I thought.

"Our new chief, Mituk, the deceased chief's son, is not in favor of war." Said the man who had spoken before. He sounded like he disagreed. "He has sent us hear to propose a peaceful agreement that can help to prevent any further conflict, at least temporarily until more permanent measures can be taken." He spoke slowly, choosing his words very deliberately.

"Elaborate." Said Uncle.

"Chief Mituk wants a someone from here in the South Pole to come live in the North Pole for a few years as an ambassador." The same man explained.

"Ambassador?" questioned Father.

"Yes, a representative of one place that goes and lives in another. He wants the people of the North Pole to realize that they can live peacefully with someone from the South Pole." Said the Fire Nation man. "I'm an ambassador now, representing the Fire Nation in this conference. I'm also here as an unbiased mediator. We don't want a conflict between you two, because chances are we'll get wrapped up in it as well."

"So, we could send anyone we wanted to?" asked Uncle.

"Well…" the man hesitated. "He requested that you send your daughter."

"Arin?" Auntie's voice sounded disbelieving. "No, she's just a girl. If they want a member of the royal family, why not my nephew Kaito?"

"Kaito would probably love the opportunity for travel." Said Father.

"How old is he?" inquired the man from the Fire Nation.

"Eighteen," answered Father.

"And I assume he's probably a trained warrior." Continued the Fire Nation man. There was no answer so I guessed that Father or Uncle probably nodded. He continued. "Think of the message that would send to the people of the North Pole. A warrior? What would you think if the peaceful ambassador to try to end the conflict between you two Water Tribes was a man ready for war?" The room was silent as he let the question hang in the air. "Now, picture this: they send an innocent little girl. Arin, you said her name is? Arin goes to the North Pole, with a completely open mind. The North Pole see that the South Pole isn't just made of fierce, barbaric warriors like they've been made to believe, but there are little girls, children, there too. It makes the whole thing more…humane."

"That is very well, except, like you said, Arin is a child. Therefore, she is not going." Said Auntie firmly. I looked at Arin. She looked pale.

"We need to get into that meeting." I whispered.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What about your premonition? It is practically coming true." I stood up. "Play along." Arin looked confused, but I had a plan. I backed away from the door, then took a run at it, opening it at the last moment. I ran through and did not look at anything until I got to my mother.

"Mom!" I whined, "Arin wasn't being nice to me."

"Rika, you know not to disturb us when we're in an important meeting," hissed Mother. I looked around at the table of visitors intending to feign surprise, but the real thing spread across my face. The men seemed so much different up close than they from a distance. They seemed just as surprised to see me until the one from the Fire Nation burst out laughing. I blushed.

"Now I didn't know there were two of them." He chuckled.

"This is my niece, Rika. She's about two years younger than my daughter." Said Uncle. Arin poked her head into the room.

"I didn't do anything!" she snapped, striding tentatively into the room. She looked around at the people with awe and fear at the same time. She ran over to Auntie.

"Now run along, you two." Said Father. "This is a very important meeting."

"No," said the man from the Fire Nation, he had finished laughing, "I think they should stay here. I want to hear what they think."

"Think about what?" I asked innocently. He gave a brief explanation of the ambassador idea and Arin and I nodded.

"Arin, what do you think?" finished the Fire Nation man.

"I-I'm not sure." She mumbled. She glanced at her parents and then at me.

"What if your cousin went with you?" he proposed.

"Hold on, I thought that Chief Mituk only wanted one ambassador," butted in Uncle before Arin could answer.

"I'm sure he probably wouldn't mind. Two girls would probably give the same, or perhaps even an even better message." Said the Fire Nation man. "I'd be escorting them both all the way to the North Pole, so they'll be quite safe on the journey there."

"I want to go." I said suddenly, before anyone else could respond. "Mom, Dad, I want to go. I'm not a little kid anymore. I want to travel the world, I want to make a difference."

"Rika…" started Mother, but I interrupted.

"Please, you've kept me in the dark for so long, I think I have a right to do this." I glanced at Arin.

"If Rika goes, then I want to go, too." She said. I was shocked. This was so unlike her, agreeing with me! "I don't know why there's a war, or anything, but as the princess, I think it's my responsibility to help solve it however I can." Everyone in the room stared at her, and I was afraid she was going to start hyperventilating. As if she read my mind Auntie spoke,

"Arin cannot go because she has a breathing ailment."

"Mom," Arin contradicted, "nothing has happened in months…" she trailed off mumbling.

"And I could take care of her," I pointed out, "I know how to make her calm down after and get back to normal."

"There are healers in the North Pole who could take extra care of her," added the Fire Nation man. "The journey is only about a month and half, so she would not be without care for very long."

"You know, I would feel a lot better if they both went together." Said Uncle thoughtfully. "How long would they be there for?"

"Two to four years at the most." Said one of the waterbenders. "Until all or most of the hostile feelings are eliminated." Four years away from home…that seemed like such an immense amount of time. Nonetheless, I was itching to go.

"Think of the opportunity for the girls," added the man from the Fire Nation, "on the way there we'll stop in some Earth Kingdom ports, and take a short detour to my home in the Fire Nation. Maybe we can even visit one of the Air Temples. It will be such an experience for them."

"Please?" I begged. The idea of maybe being able to visit Yangchen's home was more exciting than anything else I had heard yet.

"I shall think it over," said Uncle, "with my brother, wife, and sister-in-law." The Fire Nation man nodded.

"I suppose this is the end of the meeting?" he asked standing up. The waterbenders and two silent Earth Kingdom soldiers rose from the table. My parents and aunt and uncle did not move and ushered us out of the room. I wanted to speak to that man from the Fire Nation, but he was with the other men, and they seemed to be leaving. Perhaps if I was allowed to go, I would have lots of time to speak to him. He seemed very interesting. Arin and I walked back to our room.

"What do you think's going to happen?" I asked her.

She shrugged, "How'm I supposed to know?"

"I don't know." I admitted. "I hope we can go."

"Me too."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that when you actually agreed with me that it would be great to go, it just seemed so shocking because you never agree with me. And you never seem very…daring." I said, then added, "No offense."

"I know what you mean. But this feeling, it won't go away. I feel like it's my destiny to go. Weird, right?"

"Yeah." We reached our room. "I wonder where the men are staying. I'm sure they probably won't leave until they get an answer, and who knows how long that can take."

"Maybe they're housing somewhere in the village." Arin sat down on her sleeping mat, facing me. I knelt on mine.

"That guy from the Fire Nation seemed interesting." I commented.

"Yeah, he wanted us to go more than the guys from the North Pole!"

"I just hope his argument was enough to convince my mother,"

"Yeah, she's so protective," agreed Arin. We spent the rest of the afternoon making fun of our parents.

I did not see the visitors for three days. During that time, Arin's and my parents debated our fate. I never got to hear any of the debates, but I believed that Uncle wanted us to go to solve the war; Father wanted us to go because that was what we wished; and Mother and Auntie did not want us to go at all. Arin and I were sitting outside when they finally returned. We all went back to the same meeting room. I was so nervous my hands were shaking. Arin looked more apprehensive than me, so I took her trembling hand in mine. There were no seats at the table for us, so the two Earth Kingdom soldiers stood at the door and allowed us to sit. I thanked them, but they did not reply.

"Since you summoned us back here, is it safe to assume you have come to a decision?" asked the Fire Nation man. Uncle nodded.

"After much discussion, we have consented to let Arin and Rika go to the North Pole as ambassadors." He said. I thought I heard Auntie sob quietly but her face was pointedly expressionless. The Fire Nation man stood up and clapped his hands.

"Excellent. I'm sure Chief Mituk will be pleased." He glanced at the men from the North Pole.

"Yes, he will indeed be delighted." Said the man with the sleek-sounding voice.

"When will they be leaving?" asked Auntie. Her voice sounded high and strained. The man from the Fire nation thought for a moment then responded.

"A week or two after the Winter Solstice, so the beginning of the new year. We need to return to the North Pole to deliver the news, and come back here."

"There is one condition," said Uncle. He paused as if waiting for a response but none came, so he continued. "You may be their escort, but you three will travel by a ship that is manned by our men." The men from the North Pole exchanged glances amongst themselves, then nodded. The Fire Nation man spoke for them.

"That seems to be fine." He said. I sighed with relief and grinned at Arin. She returned my smile. It was the beginning of a new adventure, one like nothing I had ever dreamed could happen, or had even been close to experiencing in the past. I watched the visitors go, already full with eager anticipation for their return.

--

Next chapter in a few weeks. Thanks for reading :


	4. Chapter 4

The beginning of part two! Thanks everyone who's read and left reviews. They're much appreciated :D

II. Abroad

1.

_Yangchen,_

_You will not believe where I'm writing this from: the boat! I've just got on. Let me tell you all about it…_

They day they came was exactly thirteen days after my twelfth birthday. It was the man from the Fire Nation, accompanied by two Air Nomads who had given him a ride on one of their bison. I did not get to see the bison though; I was sleeping at the time they arrived. I had always wanted to see one of the bison. Bansi and Bae told me about the huge groups of Air Nomads who would fly around the world with herds of hundreds of bison. I tried to imagine the monstrous beasts flying overhead like the biggest birds ever. The brothers promised me that maybe one day they would come on a bison to give me a ride. They never did, though.

Over breakfast Mother introduced Arin and me to the man from the Fire Nation. His name was Shil Hevat, and he was taller than I remembered. His heavy coat made him utterly huge and I was intimidated at first but he smiled a lot and was very nice. He seemed to enjoy our breakfast, and was excited for the trip to come. However, as soon as breakfast was finished, he had to leave with Uncle and Father to meet the crew of the ship we would be taking.

The nerves set in when I started packing.

With trembling hands, Mother helped me pick out the clothes I should bring. I did not have a very big wardrobe; I had outgrown many of my clothes (including my Earth Kingdom dress, which I was very saddened about, naturally), and nearly everything I had was going with me.

"You'll need some lighter clothes for traveling," she murmured as we went through it all. Her lips were pressed tightly together when she searched as if she was on the verge of tears. She probably was. "However, the North Pole will be just as cold as here, so you'll need your parka as well." I nodded and I realized that I was on the verge of tears, too. I managed to keep myself together long enough to put all the clothes I owned in a wooden trunk. Mother assured me that I could always get new clothes when I reached the north.

When Mother and I finished packing, we met Kaito and Father for some lunch. We rarely ate meals just the four of us. Normally I was either eating with just Arin, or with the entire family, but Auntie and Uncle wanted to spend some time with her, and my parents felt the same about me. The meal was as silent and bleak as the weather outside. Mother sniffled, and I was too nervous to eat. Father and Kaito had the same expression of forced apathy.

"I promise I'm going to write," I said halfway through the meal. My voice was high and strained, "just like I write to Yangchen. And maybe I'll even be able to send gifts back here for you guys." I smiled weakly.

"I'm sure you will," answered Father nodding.

"And I'm going to miss you so much," I added unnecessarily to fill up the sad silence.

"We'll miss you, too." Said Mother.

"Yeah," put in Kaito. "It'll be weird without my little sister around." I could feel tears brimming in my eyes. I closed them and nodded keeping my lips pressed in a tight line and tried not to sniffle.

After our lunch wee met Uncle, Auntie, and Arin in the little harbor where the ship would be leaving. Our trunks were loaded onto the boat by two of the waterbending members of the crew. Shil Hevat, the man from the Fire Nation greeted us when we boarded the boat. In contrasts to the bleakness of my family, he seemed all cheer. I hugged everyone multiple times. Mother and Auntie were completely crying, and I think even Father and Uncle were sniffling a bit. I refused to let them see me cry. Watching them on the shore was like being in a dream. Seeing them growing smaller and smaller on the distant bank felt so unreal. I held Arin's hand as we watched our only home disappear into the dark mists.

_Not much has happened since. We both went into our cabins (tiny closet-like rooms underneath the deck) and I sobbed and sobbed. I finally pulled myself together to write this. However, I'm cheering up a bit. The prospect of being able to visit you at the Western Air Temple is extremely exciting to me. My sense of adventure is returning, too. I suppose I'll still be homesick, but not miserable about it. Anyway, I will be giving this to the next Air Nomads I see (hopefully I'll see some!). I would say to write back, but I don't know when I'll be able to get your letter. _

_--Rika._

When I finished writing my letter, I sat in my room for some time. I was feeling a little bit nauseous from the tides, and my head hurt from crying. I finally left after I grew hungry. I could hear that Arin was still in her room when I walked by. Shil Hevat was sitting on the deck just gazing out at the dark water. He turned when he heard me approach.

"Rika! Feeling better now?"

"Yes," I mumbled.

He indicated an empty chair next to him, "I've been waiting for some company out here. Would you like to sit?" I nodded and sat down. I stared out at the darkness for awhile without speaking. The boat glided quietly through the water. I could see the four men waterbending the water to power the boat. I watched their fluid, flawless movements. It was hypnotizing to watch them all move in synchronization.

"So, you travel a lot?" I finally said.

"Yes, but never really like this." He answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the boats in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom are different than this."

"How so?"

"They don't have waterbenders obviously," he chuckled, "so they have different methods. The Earth Kingdom method is probably the least efficient of the three; it takes more men and bigger ships. Even the smaller ships are bigger than this, and this ship is practically a little canoe compared to what I've traveled in!"

"Wow."

"Yeah. The Earth Kingdom ships are powered by rowers. A ship about this side would probably need twenty men. Each man has a heavy oar taller than me, and they sit in two long rows on wooden benches. One man, who's the leader, sits at the front of all of them beating a drum, so all the oarsmen row all together." I tried to imagine it. It seemed very crude and, as he had mentioned, inefficient. Twenty men? This ship only needed four, though we had eight who rotated in shifts.

"What about the Fire Nation?" I asked. He smiled.

"Fire Nation is much more technical with their methods." He sounded very proud, but not haughty. "It's something that I think the inventors picked up from the Air Nomads."

"But…they don't have ships, right?"

"No, but the concept involves the wind." I nodded and he continued. "We need about as many men as a Water Tribe ship, but less manpower. We let nature do the work. We capture the wind in giant cloths that are called 'sails.' Each ship has two or three different sails that can be manipulated based on where the wind is coming from. It's still fairly new, but I think in the future, the Earth Kingdom will be using it as well."

I nodded again. "Sounds complicated." My stomach grumbled. "Is there dinner yet?"

"Well, not only am I your chaperone, I'm also your chef." He grinned. "I hope you like Fire Nation food."

"I've never had it." I replied. "But I'm sure it's delicious."

"I'm a pretty good chef, if I do say so myself." I followed him down into to the interior of the boat. "Should we get her?" he asked as we walked by Arin's room. I shrugged.

"I don't think so. She was really upset." We proceeded.

"This," he pointed to another room, "is my little room, so if you ever need something, feel free to come in, but I'm a bit sensitive to small spaces so I'll probably be spending most of my time on the deck." I nodded. At the end of the hallway we entered through a door. "This, is the galley." He indicated a small icebox and fire-pit with a cooking pot. "There's nothing above this, so the smoke can go right out an opening at the top." He went over to the ice box and removed some meat that I did not recognize. He grabbed a knife from a compartment and began chopping the meat on a small table in the corner of the room.

"What kind of meat is that?" I asked.

"Cow-pig." He answered. "You probably don't get anything like that down in the South Pole." I shook my head. "It's a very common type of livestock in the Earth Kingdom. We're going to be stopping a couple Earth Kingdom ports along the way to replenish our food supply and to show you two some Earth Kingdom culture. We're also going to be going a little bit inland to visit Omashu. Now that's a great city; probably my favorite place of residence in the entire Earth Kingdom. It started out as a small town for hundreds of years, then has suddenly just started exploding with population; the fastest growing city in the Earth Kingdom.

"The other place I'd love to take you two is the Earth Kingdom capital, Ba Sing Se. It's probably safe to say that that's the biggest city in the world." He finished chopping the meat and turned to the little fire-pit. "Stand back." I obliged and watched amazed as flame seemed to burst from his fist lighting the tiny fire-pit. He dumped the meat in. "Where was I?"

"Umm…" I was still amazed by the firebending. I had never seen anyone firebend before and I could not believe how he was so nonchalant with it. "Ba Sing Se?"

"Yes, Ba Sing Se." he smiled and began peeling some strangely shaped vegetables. "I actually got to eat a meal with the Earth King himself. A very interesting dinner, I might add. He was quite an interesting fellow, I suppose. But to get there, we had to travel through the entire city because his palace is in the exact center of the city; it's a huge circle! Whenever they expand it, they make it bigger on practically all sides to keep it's shape."

"Why did you eat a meal with the Earth King?"

"I was representing the Fire Nation at the four-hundred year anniversary of the city." He dumped the vegetables into the mix with a sizzle. "That's what I do when I'm not chaperoning little girls," he chuckled, "I represent the Fire Nation in international relations. Most of my business is with the Earth Kingdom though, which is why I've never traveled down to the South Pole in the past; and of course the fact that I don't particularly love cold weather."

"I guess I'm just used to it."

"And I'm used to the heat. Where I live it's never snowed; my kids hardly even know what it is."

"Wow…" The idea of not knowing snow seemed utterly mind blowing to me. "So you have kids?"

"Yes, four. My oldest is about your age I think."

"It must be tough to leave them for so long."

"Yeah, it is." He stirred the concoction thoughtfully. "But I've worked out a system, six months away six months at home doing nothing. I'm actually supposed to be home now, but since I volunteered to take you and Arin I'm going to be away an extra month or so. No regrets though, it's an important job and somebody's got to do it. I've also got a bit of an adventurous spirit, so I can't really stay home doing nothing. You know?"

"Yeah…" I had never traveled before, yet I felt that I could relate. "What are you making?" His mixture smelled delicious. He shrugged.

"A recipe I picked up from some sandbenders in the desert."

"Sandbenders?"

"Yes, they're a special form of nomadic earthbenders…" he continued talking even as he finished making the meal. He talked as he served us both, and talked even more as we both ate. His stories were fascinating; he seemed to know everything! After we dined he showed me all sorts of firebending moves under the stars and like so many other people I have met, I began to envy him.

Arin was out of her room the next day. I knew that she, like me, came out for food, but naturally she denied this. During breakfast, Shil Hevat showed us where we would be going on the map.

"Down here," he pointed to the southernmost piece of land on the map, "is where we started. In fact, this is where your city is." He indicated a dot on the map. With full mouths, Arin and I nodded. "See all these islands? Well, we're going to cut right through that little channel in the middle." He traced his finger along the body of water. "Then we set due course until we practically run ashore of the Earth Kingdom. From there, we head right along the southwest coast stopping every few days at the little towns along the coast for more supplies. We keep going until we reach this river here." He gesticulated to a river in between a mountain range and a larger river. "This river may be shorter, but it receives nearly double the boating traffic. We're going to take this river all the way to a harbor outside of Omashu. However, we're going to leave the boat in the town and the three of us are going to travel by carriage to Omashu.

"We're going to stay there for a night or two while the boat gets touched up. Then we head back to the boat, and back out into the open ocean. From there we head northwest until we reach my home in the Fire Nation. Now, the Fire Nation may look like just two or three big islands, but it's actually comprised of many tinier islands that don't show up on the map. My home is on one of those, towards the northern part of the nation. We're going to stay there for a few days with my family. You'll like them." He smiled.

"After that, we proceed north to the Western Air Temple. It's difficult to get up there, so we're going to be met by an Air Nomad escort; maybe even your friend Yangchen. There's a harbor for the boat so no worries." The boat was the last thing on my mind. I was filled with trepidation at finally being able to see Yangchen's magnificent home in the mountains for myself. Shil Hevat continued, "We're going to spend a few days there as well until we travel our final stretch to the North Pole, though we're going to be making a few over night stops in the Earth Kingdom to make sure we have supplies and such, but nothing major. The whole journey should take about a month and a half to two months, so we'll be arriving right at the end of winter." Arin and I chewed our breakfast quietly taking it all in.

Arin soon discovered that she could practice her waterbending with the waterbending members of the crew that were on their break. Sometimes I would watch her. She was improving greatly, sparring with the other waterbenders and creating giant waves. I watched as the scenery around the boat started to change from the grey, icy waters and dark skies, so bluer skies and even a few birds.

After a week of traveling, we passed between the islands that, according to Shil Hevat, were home to the Air Nomads of the Southern Air Temple. Apparently, he had stayed there for a few months several years ago, observing the habits of the monks. He was full of interesting stories and when I tired of looking at Arin's waterbending, I was happy to listen to them for hours and hours. I became more and more excited for the places we would visit.

After ten days we reached our first Earth Kingdom town. Arin and I watched from the deck as Shil Hevat traded with men in the port. Every time he peered over his shoulder at us, we hid. The men were different than the Earth Kingdom soldier that had visited us in the South Pole. These men were laid back and smiling, exchanging stories and supplies with Chit Sang. I could not hear their actual conversation, but seemed to know him from past visits. Our chaperone was in an extra good mood when he finally returned.

During this time, I stopped writing letters. I figured that I would reach the Air Temple and see her in person before any letters reached her. However, I did start keeping a log of my adventures on the ship helping me to remember them so vividly.


	5. Chapter 5

2.

The day before the boat pulled into the port for us to leave for Omashu, I received some of the most useful wisdom of my life. However, many times in my life I made the mistake of not listening to it.

"See those mountains?" Shil Hevat pointed and I nodded. We were sitting on the deck and Arin was practicing her waterbending. It was a typical boring day. "That means we're very close to Omashu. We're going to be seeing even more boats on the water." I nodded again, and wiped some sweat off my forehead. This was the hottest weather I had ever experienced, and the sun beat down hard on our faces. According to Shil Hevat, this was regarded as _cold_ weather in the Fire Nation. I did not want to experience what they considered to be warm. The mountains themselves were a beautiful sight…but one that I had been staring at for several days straight and had tired of. I moved my gaze to Arin on the other side of the deck giggling as she created streams of water that seemed to dance around her head.

I sighed attracting Shil Hevat's curious attention.

"Is something the matter?"

"No," I lied.

"It's pretty impressive isn't it?"

"The mountains?" I knew he knew I was lying, but I tried to deny it.

"No, Arin's waterbending."

"Yeah." I turned to look at him. He seemed so sincere, so honestly concerned that I found myself confessing. "I've always wished that I was a waterbender like her."

"Really?" I nodded vigorously. "Well, I've always wished that I was a turtle-duck."

I burst out laughing. "That's silly." I had never seen turtle-ducks in real life, but I had seen pictures. They were cute fuzzy little things.

He raised his eyebrows. "Is it? When I'm at home we have a nice little pond full of them. My daughter and I always go and feed them." I stopped giggling when I noticed how serious he still was.

"But, a turtle-duck? That doesn't make any sense."

"Why not?" he countered, crossing his arms. "Makes sense to me." I hesitated a moment before responding.

"I guess, it is because it's…" I faltered realizing I had fallen into a trap.

"It's what?"

"It's impossible." I mumbled. I felt embarrassed, so I stared fixedly at a passing yacht. The two people on it appeared to be from the Earth Kingdom as far as I can tell, and they were sitting on a deck similarly to the way Shil Hevat and I sat.

"You don't need to be embarrassed." He said softly. "Many people wish to be things that they'll never be. However, I think that you're smart enough to know, that you should be happy with who you are." I did not respond. "And for the record," he continued, "I don't really wish I was a turtle-duck." That made me smile.

The ride to Omashu was hot and bumpy. The solid ground felt strangely unfamiliar under my feet after two weeks on the boat. I felt overheated and faint in the tiny carriage we were riding in. I did not know how the driver and Shil Hevat were both wearing coats. Arin fell asleep against my shoulder and her sweaty hair felt all sticky.

We reached the city by midday. I was astounded as I walked down the narrow pathway into the city. It looked like a long way down. The Earth Kingdom soldiers bade us through the giant wall surrounding the city. The city was like nothing I had ever seen.

Omashu made our South Pole city seem like a mere village. People swarmed around us heading off in different locations, and I had never felt so inconsequential. I made sure to stay close to Shil Hevat for there were so many people, I felt that if I blinked I would lose him. Arin seemed concerned as well because she clung tightly to my hand.

"See those chutes?" he asked, pointing as we walked. "They're like your letters but on a different scale; more things being sent, but across a smaller distance."

"Wow." I commented.

"Where are we going?" asked Arin.

"To the inn where we're staying. I've got some friends there that I want to introduce you to." He began walking at a brisker pace, weaving in an out of the crowd. "Stay close." He led us to a small building across the city. Inside was dimly lit by flickering green lanterns, and the room was filled with several round tables. A few old men sat around one of the tables drinking tea and laughing with an old woman who seemed to be the waitress. She looked up as we entered and rushed over to us surprisingly quickly for a woman of her age. She threw her arms around Shil Hevat in a huge hug.

"Oh, it's been such a long time since you've visited!" she squealed. He smiled.

"Careful, you'll make Myung jealous."

She laughed in response. "Who are these two here?"

"The reason that I've come to visit again. This is Arin, and this is Rika. They're the reason I'm here. I'm chaperoning them up to the North Pole from their home in the South Pole, and we've made a short detour here to show them some of the Earth Kingdom." She nodded when he finished his explanation.

"Well, I'm Vena, and my husband Myung and I run this inn and tea shop. It's a pleasure meeting you two. I don't believe I've ever met anyone from the South Pole, so to make your acquaintance is an honor." She bowed. "We did have some wateverbenders from the north visit once…"

"I'm a waterbender!" exclaimed Arin. Vena smiled.

"I'm an earthbender."

"An earthbender? When she was your age, she was probably one of the best in the world." Said Shil Hevat.

"Oh, you weren't even born yet." She chuckled. "So how long are you going to be in town?"

"Only one night, I'm afraid. We've got a tight schedule." He answered. "We need to get to the North Pole by the end of winter, and we're stopping at my place for a week, and then taking another side trip to the Western Air Temple. You have two rooms for us available?"

"Of course!" she answered. "You three look exhausted. Have a cup of tea," she indicated an open table and we all sat down, "on the house." She waved down a young waiter who had been lurking in a corner of the restaurant and he dashed off to get us tea. I was not a much of a tea drinker, but Arin was. She looked excited; I felt bored. I did not want to sit in a tea shop when there was an entire city that could be explored!

"So, any suggestions as to what we should do during our one night here?" asked Shil Hevat when the waiter returned.

"Hmm…" Vena sipped her tea for a moment thinking. I pretended to drink mine. "Well, tonight is the first night of the Winter Lantern Festival. That's quite a sight to see. I used to take my son to see it every single year."

"How is he?" questioned Shil Hevat. "Still living out near the Great Divide? Last time I saw him, we hiked the whole thing. Took us nearly two weeks!"

"No, he's finally settled down. He and his wife live in a little village outside of Ba Sing Se." Vena smiled. "I've got two grandkids now."

"Wow. It's been awhile since I've seen him!" laughed Shil Hevat.

"How are Theia and the kids?" asked Vena.

"They're fine. It's been awhile since I've seen them."

"So you must be thrilled to be visiting home."

"Yes. Though, she's probably going to be angry with me. I was supposed to be back home for my six months off two weeks ago. But duty calls." He gesticulated towards Arin and me lazily. I smiled and Arin blushed. The waiter returned again with some small dumplings. Shil Hevat thanked him and took one. I followed suit. It was one of the most delicious things I had ever tasted. The adults continued talking, but I did not listen.

We were introduced to Vena's elderly husband Myung. He had a large smile despite the fact he was missing many teeth. He showed us to our two rooms when Shil Hevat had finished talking to Vena.

"You two get settled in here; I'll be right next store." Said Shil Hevat. "I know we didn't pack much, but get cleaned up for dinner." He set our one little bag down on the table and shut the door quietly.

"Ugh, I hate Omashu." Whined Arin as soon as he was away. "That old lady was ghastly, and her husband had no teeth!" She took her brush out of her bag and began brushing her beautiful long hair.

"Maybe this festival thing will be better." I said optimistically, but honestly, I agreed with her. Shil Hevat had made Omashu sound like such a wonderful place, but from what I had seen, it seemed overcrowded and dirty.

My wishful thinking paid off. The Winter Lantern Festival was spectacular. Once the sun went down, the weather finally became cold enough that I needed my coat. Small snow flakes seemed to meander down from the sky covering the ground with a soft powder that seemed different from the snow I was used to. Shil Hevat took us both up to the top of the city in a large lifting device powered by strong looking earthbenders. The view at the top of the city was breathtaking. The entire city was dotted with brightly colored lanterns that made the stars themselves seem dull. Each mail chute was lined with tiny little candles creating a crisscrossing design that twirled around each other like two dancing turtle-snakes.

The next day, Shil Hevat took us all around the market place of Omashu. This part of the city was different than where we had visited the day before. It was just as crowded, however, instead of the narrow alleyways we had walked through, it was a series of large open plazas filled from end to end with different stalls. The sounds of the crowd and salespeople practically echoed off the surrounding mountains and the effect was deafening. We browsed through the shops and Shil Hevat bought himself a Pai Sho board.

"For the dull days on the boat," he explained, "I'll teach you how to play." We ate lunch in a small café in the middle of the plaza. I loved watching the people walking by while I ate. The Earth Kingdom people were so diverse. Men and women of all different ages walked by carrying boxes and bags. Some seemed to be so rushed, while others meandered around as if they had no purpose whatsoever. Sprinkled throughout were the occasional Fire Nation type people, and even a few Air Nomads. I did not see any other people that seemed like they were from the Poles. All the mail chutes adjoined in the plaza, and every few minutes the pedestrian traffic would have to be stopped to allow the large earthen boxes to swoosh through.

Shil Hevat waved down someone that he appeared to recognize and the two began chatting like old friends. I wondered how long we would be sitting there and there were so many interesting looking stores.

"Excuse me," I cut in, "I don't mean to interrupt, but can Arin and I look around at some of the shops while you two talk? We won't go far." He glanced around checking the scene and then he nodded. I tugged Arin's hand and we dove into the crowd. We approached a booth and observed its wares.

"Look, Rika!" she pointed at some small painted wooden figurines. "It's like an entire miniature family." I looked at where she was pointing.

"This one would be you," I giggled picking one up. She laughed and walked around to the other side of the stand where the crowd was a bit thinner. I ventured over to the other side of the cart obscuring Arin from my view. I looked at some dresses thinking nostalgically of my long outgrown Earth Kingdom dress back home, and a bell tolled somewhere in the background.

Suddenly, the swooshing of the earth chutes seemed to be coming nearer and the bell registered in my head. It was the indication that the pathways around the chutes must be cleared to allow for deliveries to pass through. There was a chute that was right next to the kiosk I was visiting, but I was safely out of the way. I looked around the side of the stand. There she stood, right in the middle of a chute, too engrossed in the miniature figurines to notice the danger she was in.

"Arin!" I screamed. She realized it a moment before it was too late, but she did not move. I wanted to help her, but my legs felt glued to the ground in fear. Out of nowhere, someone pushed her out of the way. I regained my senses and dashed over to where Arin and her rescuer lay on the ground as the stone cart zoomed by.

"Is she alright?" asked the rescuer; a young man who looked about Kaito's age, with hair in a neat top know, and dark green eyes. I knelt down on the ground next to them. Arin had not moved.

"Thanks for saving her." I whispered. My voice felt hoarse. Arin gasped for breath and what I had been dreading for so long was finally happening again. I grabbed her shoulders and tried to sit her up. "Arin, come on, _breathe_."

"What's wrong with her?" the rescuer looked concerned.

"It's a breathing problem, she's had it ever since we were little." I wiped off her sweating brow with my sleeve to try and cool her off. "It happens when she gets nervous or panicked."

"Oh." He looked confused. "Is there anything else I can do to help."

"Umm…" I looked at Arin whose face seemed to be turning a bluish grey. "There's a café over there," I pointed and he nodded, "there should be a large man from the Fire Nation there, bring him here." He grunted in understanding and dashed off. A small crowd was beginning to form around us. I pressed on Arin's chest hoping that would help.

"Back off!" shouted a voice. Shil Hevat tore through the crowd and fell to the ground by us. "Is this the breathing thing that your aunt mentioned?"

I nodded gravely. "But she hasn't done it in awhile." He put his ear to her chest listening for her heartbeat. "What do we do now?"

"We wait." I brushed some of the hair off her face, and her eyes were wide with terror. "Then she just normally comes around, though it's probably worse than usual because she hasn't had an episode since we were a lot younger." Arin looked pale, and her face had a greenish tinge. "Please, Arin, calm down and breathe." I clutched her clammy hand in mine. Miraculously, Arin sat up dazed and took a giant breath. I sighed with relief.

"What happened?" Arin whispered. "There was the dolls, and the cart, and…" she broke of sobbing and buried her face my shoulder. I let her cry there as the crowd thinned. Finally, she stood up and wiped her nose on her sleeve, then she, Shil Hevat, and I left the city of Omashu.


	6. Chapter 6

3.

By the time we started heading west, I was thoroughly bored with travel. Since being shaken up by Arin's incident in Omashu, I had the feeling of homesickness for the first time since the first night away. To make matters worse, the friendly comfort of the Earth Kingdom shore was now out of sight, so I had nothing to look at but endless, endless ocean. In a strange way, it made me feel claustrophobic and dizzy, not to mention the intense heat was like nothing I had ever experienced. Arin was in a horrible mood also. The fear and anxiety after the episode had rapidly turned into surliness and irritability. She was impossible to be around and her negative aura was utterly contagious.

To cheer me up, Shil Hevat taught me how to play Pai Sho. He set up a small, rickety table on the deck and placed the board out showing me the tiles and strategies.

"Pai Sho," he informed me, "is the oldest game in the world. It's been played for hundreds of years, and I'd bet that it'll be played for hundreds more." We had no money to gambled with, so instead, we wagered with anything on the boat, from our chairs to fish in the sea, to even the crew members. I was not very good at it, but I still managed to beat him every so often, and it took my mind off of Arin's sulking and my homesickness.

We were traveling for little over a week when we first entered Fire Nation waters. It was one of the most touching moments of the entire trip for I realized that Shil Hevat was crying.

"Are you all right?" I asked him as a giant tear dropped onto the Pai Sho board.

"Look," he pointed behind where I was sitting. Though his eyes were filled with tears, he did not sound sad. I turned to see a small island. "We've entered the Fire Nation. I never thought I'd miss it so much; my home, my country. This is the first time I'm really coming home in nearly a year. I guess I just didn't realize how truly homesick I was." I stared out at the barren little island ahead of us. At that time, naturally, I did not understand what it really felt like to come home. I would not understand it until many, many years.

"So…" I turned back to Shil Hevat. "Does that mean we're almost there?"

"Yes." He nodded, wiping his eyes and giving me his usual grin. "Probably only two or three days at most."

"That's good." I muttered, ready to get back to our game. However, my opponent did not appear to be interested. "It's your move." I reminded him. "And the pot is up to the entire city of Ba Sing Se."

"Do you want to see what souvenirs I've picked up around the world for my family?" he asked instead. I shrugged. I wanted to play Pai Sho, but I also did not want to seem rude.

"Okay," I mumbled. He led me back to his room underneath the main deck. Inside there was a small cot and a large trunk in which I had assumed contained his clothes and possessions. He opened it with a loud creak. I peered in at it. There were two stacks of clothes and a small box within it. He removed the box and closed the trunk, sitting on it and resting the box on his lap. I sat next to him on his small cot. First, he took out round multicolored rock.

"This," he explained, "is for my daughter." I stared at it. I did not understand. Of all the amazing things around the world, and he had gotten her a stone? "You see," he continued, "we have a sort of, deal, I suppose. She wants me to get a souvenir for her, but she doesn't want me to have bought it. So this particular rock I got when I went hiking to the bottom of the Great Divide with an earthbending buddy of mine." He placed it in my hands as he rummaged for the next thing in the box. It was smooth and cold. It was kind of neat, I suppose. The next object were a few small yellowish scrolls each with a fish of some sort drawn on it in black and green ink. Different parts of the fish-creatures were all labeled and diagramed.

"This is for my son." He explained. "He loves different animals, and there are so many different species around the world, that I always try to bring him back something animal related. I got these near this little lake high up in the mountains in the eastern Earth Kingdom. According to the man I bought them from, these are rare fish and that lake is the only place in the entire world where you can find them."

"What does he do with them?" I asked.

"He hangs them all up in his room." Answered Shil Hevat as he placed the scrolls in my hands to take out the last two things in the box. The objects he withdrew made my heart skip a beat. They were tiny green dresses, not unlike my own.

"Whose are those for?" I questioned wishing that I was small enough again to wear one.

"My other daughters. Last week was their second birthday." Replied Shil Hevat. My little twins. I felt bad about having missed it so I got them an extra special gift. These little dresses were the most expensive things on my whole trip."

"Yeah, I can imagine." I agreed. "I'm sure they're going to love it."

"Love what?" a voice asked behind us. Arin was standing in the door frame. "What are you two doing?"

"He was just showing me some things he got for his kids." I answered. "What are you doing?"

"Well, there was just some rough water ahead and the men didn't want me out there. They said it might be unsafe so I came looking for you guys." She strode into the room sitting down on my other side. "Those dresses look just like your old dress, Rika."

"I know." I said.

"Except these are a bit nicer, don't you think?" she commented. I blushed but the lights were too dim in the room for Arin to notice.

"I guess." I mumbled even though I completely disagreed.

"I'm sure that yours was just as nice." Said Shil Hevat, the mediator as always. Arin shrugged. He stood up. "Did you say it was raining, Arin?" he asked. She shrugged again. "Then I'm going to clean up the Pai Sho board. You two stay down here." He left the box with us and I watched him leave the tiny room. I felt the soft fabric of one of the dresses in my hands nostalgically.

"What is this?" Arin unrolled the scrolls.

"A rare fish." I answered. "For Shil Hevat's son."

"He has a son? How old is he?"

I glanced at her, taken aback. "I think he's younger than us I think. Why?"

"No reason." Answered Arin and I dropped the subject ignoring my curiosity.

"Look in the sky." Pointed Shil Hevat, two days later. "It means we're close." I squinted up into the bright sunlight.

"Are they birds?" I asked. There were a couple of them, too small for me to see. They did not look like birds, but I could not think of anything else they could be.

"No. Look harder." I strained to see but the tiny figures in the sky were growing smaller and smaller.

"Are they…" I looked harder and made a random guess, "dragons?"

"Correct!" exclaimed Shil Hevat. "There are a whole group of them who live on my island."

"Really?" I asked, still surprised that I had guessed correctly. "Are they dangerous?"

He shrugged. "They mostly keep to themselves. During the summer, you can sometimes find their eggs if you hunt around the northern end of the island but we leave them alone, and they leave us alone."

"That makes sense." I agreed.

"However, they are very fascinating creatures." He said. The dragons flew out of our range of vision. "I'm sure we'll see more as we approach our destination."

"Wow…" I said. I still stared though they were long gone.

We reached the island in the middle of the night. I hadn't been sleeping very deeply and the sound of the boat docking woke me. I opened my eyes slowly in the darkness with the hidden knowledge that we were _finally_ here. I lay on top of my small blanket for it was much too warm to be bundled like I usually was and listened to the sounds outside. There were feet scraping above me and I could hear men's voices commanding how the boat should be docked so it wouldn't float away. It was strange not sharing a room with Arin. After this time on the boat I should have gotten used to it, but sometimes I'd lie awake at night and not be able to sleep because I couldn't hear Arin's slow, relaxed breathing near me. I never confided this to her, though. She would tell me I was being childish, even though I suspected she often felt the same way.

I couldn't fall asleep after that, so when Shil Hevat knocked on my door only a few hours later, I felt drowsy and sluggish. Nonetheless, I was incredibly excited. I splashed water on my face to wake myself up and dressed nicely. I met with Arin and Shil Hevat on the deck of the boat as our luggage was taken out and carried inland.

"We're walking, girls." He told us. "Don't worry, it's not a very long walk and luckily today it's not very hot." As always, I begged to differ.

We walked along the docks and passed several fishermen who, though it was still very early, looked like they had been fishing there for a long time. Some waved to us, but most seemed unaffected by the foreign arrival. The dock lead off to a small path which Shil Hevat explained went into the small town area. The luggage was sent ahead on ostrich-horse by the crew of the ship who would be staying in the village. It took less than five minutes to walk through the it. There were some small clusters of houses but none were Shil Hevat's. On the other side of the village was a heavily wooded, almost jungle-like, area which Shil Hevat lead us into. Following a small footpath we wove in and out of tall trees in the quiet woods. I was hot in sweaty but I didn't complain nor was I tempted to ask how far we were from the destination.

"Do you hear that?" he asked suddenly. So far, all I had heard were the sounds of birds chirping high up in the trees, and out feet on the path but as soon as he mentioned it I realized what it was.

"Running water." Said Arin, beating me to it. "Does that mean we're close?"

"Yup." He answered. The water grew louder and louder until the trees parted to reveal a moderately sized house on the banks of a small stream. In the distance I could see the tip of a large volcano and wondered if I was only imagining the dragons circling around it as faraway tiny, dark specks in the cloudless sky.

"Dad!" I noticed a small boy—well, not that small, he appeared to be my age—lift his head from where he had been swimming in the stream. Soaking wet, he sprinted out towards us. He gave his father a hug, leaving a giant wet spot on Shil Hevat's clothes. I felt a little homesick. Would I be that happy when I saw my father again? I doubted it.

"This is my son Tzeo." Said Shil Hevat. I examined him. He was tall and had a large build like his father, with the same pale skin and messy dark hair.

"Hi." He said.

Shil Hevat introduced Arin and me. "These girls are Arin and Rika from the South Pole."

"Whoa." Exclaimed Tzeo. "You were in the South Pole? Was it cold?"

Shil Hevat laughed. "Let's go inside. Has the luggage arrived?"

"Yeah, I think so." Answered Tzeo.

"Where's your mother?" asked Shil Hevat.

"She's inside." We followed the boy into the house.

Within a few minutes, we were all introduced. Shil Hevat's wife, Indah, was very pretty, and looked a lot like her daughter, Kiri, who was Arin's age. Naturally, they made friends almost immediately. The two twins were very adorable. I was reminded of Bansi and Bae, yet the two girls were such the opposite of them. Almost identical, they sat quietly and calmly with their mother, as Shil Hevat presented them with their dresses. Their black hair was neatly tied out of their faces and they were remarkable clean for two toddlers.

"How long will you be staying?" asked Indah once the gifts and introductions were finished.

Shil Hevat shrugged. "No more than a week at the most. I've still got to take them all the way to the North Pole, and I promised them we'd stop at the Western Air Temple."

"Oh," she frowned. I blushed embarrassedly. I tried to remember when my dad had had to travel once. I don't think my mom had been that sad when he had gone. I had never questioned my parents' relationship with themselves, and with me, but now, seeing how tight this Fire Nation family was, I wondered how much my family really meant.

"Well, why don't we show them where they'll be staying?" suggested Shil Hevat. Indah nodded and we walked to the back of the house. "You two will both be staying in Kiri's room, and Kiri will be sharing with the twins." Kiri gave a dramatic pout.

"Do I have to?" she whined.

"Yes." Said Indah firmly. "Now why don't you show Arin and…"

"Rika." I reminded her.

"Yes, Rika. The grounds around the house. Your father and I want to talk." Reluctantly, Kiri and Tzeo lead us out of the house.

At first, I tried to stay with Arin and Kiri. Kiri was nice to me, too, but it soon became apparent that I was too young to stay with them. So, before long, I found myself joining Tzeo at the stream while Kiri showed Arin how to climb the trees behind the house to sneak back into her room.

"Do you want to swim?" he asked me. Almost immediately he had dove back into the streams. I removed my boots and dipped my feet in tentatively.

"I don't really know how." I admitted. "We don't really need to know at home because it's mostly ice."

Except for the fountain, I thought with an internal shiver, but nearly freezing and managing to kick to the edge didn't really count as swimming.

"Oh. I thought all waterbenders could swim."

"No." I said, then added sourly, "I'm not a waterbender."

"But—"

"I'm from the Water Tribe but I'm not a waterbender." I clarified. He nodded and clambered out of the stream to sit next to me. I watched the water drip off of his sleek, black hair.

"Wanna see something?" he suddenly asked me eagerly. He stood up and as he did so, sprinkled me with drops of water.

"Sure." I said. I started to put my shoes back on, but he grabbed my hand.

"You won't need them." He said. I shrugged and followed after him.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." We followed the stream as it went up. I could almost feel the climb. We passed through a deep patch of trees and my feet began to hurt. All of the sudden, I felt the ground under my feet change. I realized I was no longer on dirt, but on solid white rock. The trees became sparser and soon we were no longer standing in the middle of a forest, but instead we were on a flat rock ledge. We were at the top of a waterfall.

"Look down," he advised. I did and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were dragons everywhere, in all different colors, snaking around on the ground with smoke coming from their nostrils.

"Whoa…" I muttered. I took another step towards the edge, but he quickly grabbed me back.

"Don't get too close." He warned. I took a few steps back and we both sat down. "I found this all by myself last summer." He said proudly as he shouted over the waterfall. "No one lives on this side of the island and I always wondered why so I found this which pretty much answered my question."

"Yeah." I agreed.

"I wish I could live here though." He commented. "Really great firebenders can tame dragons and they make good companions according to legend but I've never gotten any closer than this."

"You're a firebender?"

"Yeah." He answered. "My dad teaches me sometimes, but mostly I've had to teach myself, because, you know…" he trailed off and I nodded. "According to another legend, firebenders first learned their art from watching and studying dragons, so that's what I've been trying to do." He shrugged modestly. "I'm not that good though."

"I'm sure you are." I contradicted. He grinned sheepishly then stood up. I watched him. He closed his eyes and went through the proper breathing. He demonstrated his moves. I didn't quite understand them, but I was hypnotized by the bright blasts. After a few minutes he finished and, with a bow, he resumed his seat.

"Well?"

"Looked good to me." I said.

The days passed too quickly. All in all, we had decided to stay for a week. It was the quickest week I could ever remember most of it was spent in exploring the parts of the island and teaching me to swim. We followed the stream where it emptied out into the ocean and swam in the salty water. Then, when we grew bored of that, he taught me how to build castles out of the sand. We climbed tall trees and sat perched in them making bird calls and spying on Arin and Kiri down below. If we listened very hard, the sound of their voices drifted straight up into the trees and we heard their confession of how they snuck into the village to meet with the boys there. Tzeo and I went into the village for one of the days, not to meet boys of course. Instead, he taught me how to play a ball game with some of his school friends in a small field. I wasn't very good at it, but Tzeo chose me for his team anyway. After, we stole apples from a tree in a very well groomed garden which he explained belonged to a grouchy old lady, and ate the apples for a snack and fished with the men from Arin's and my boat off the docks for lunch. We crept through the forest and set traps for the little lizards who lived in the dirt. I could never catch any, but Tzeo caught one. It was a small, spiky thing, the color of tree bark with bright orange eyes that watched us from its little wooden cage. He named it Rika, after me, and we let it go, laughing as it desperately scampered away from us to disappear back into the forest where it belonged.

We went back to the ledge and the waterfall on my last night. It was dark already and I brought boots this time. It was after one of Indah's large and well cooked dinners which I enjoyed thoroughly. There were a million stars out and the moon shone high and bright above us. Below us, we could see the fire of the dragons, a spurt of orangey brightness that illuminated the whole valley every few minutes. I didn't want to leave. Ever. I tried to get excited about meeting Yangchen again, but I realized that I would miss Tzeo so much. I didn't suggest writing though, Shil Hevat was done traveling, and apparently Air Nomads did not pass through here very often. I didn't think Tzeo could write very well anyway.

"This was the greatest week ever." I told him.

"Yeah." He agreed. "I wish you didn't have to leave."

"Me too. Will you wake up early in the morning to see me off?"

"Yes, of course." He promised. "Will you visit when you leave the North Pole again?"

"Yes, of course." I repeated him and we both giggled. Then, I was serious again. "I don't know when that will be." I confessed. "Arin and I are due to stay there for an indefinite amount of time."

"That's okay." He replied. "I don't think I'll be going anyway." Awkwardly, he put his arm around my shoulders and sat closer to me. I said nothing of this for I was quite undecided about it. It wasn't that I didn't like it, but I wasn't sure that I exactly liked it either. "Rika?"

"Yeah?" I turned my head slightly so we were face to face.

"Is this okay?" he asked. I shrugged and my shoulder nearly hit him in the chin.

"I guess so." I finally answered. We were both twelve years old. I hadn't ever really talked to many boys at home. I hadn't had very many playmates at home, but my mom had always made sure that they were girls. I didn't know about Arin. During the week I wondered why my parents sheltered me so much. I had had a great time with Tzeo…

"Okay." He whispered. Then, slowly, his face came closer to mine until his lips touched mine so softly. It lasted a moment, then he turned away, embarrassed. It was so short, yet my heart was pounding so fast. When it calmed down, I rested my head on his shoulder. I felt very tired.

He was the first of a grand total of three boys that I would kiss in my entire lifetime. An okay number, I think. All were very special to me, at one point or another, and this little nothing was very remarkable to me at the time. It still is, and I can still remember how my heart fluttered and my lips tingled. I still remember how young and immature we were, one moment laughing at Arin and Kiri for being ridiculously romantic, gagging as we overheard their juicy details, and the next moment trying briefly and timidly for ourselves. Sometimes I wonder what might have happened if I had been able to stay longer. Would we have gone back to being kids? Or continued this…relationship—for lack of a better word?

I'll never know.

The next morning we left at dawn, and there he waved at me as our boat cast off. I never saw him again.


	7. Chapter 7

4.

Nothing in the world could have ever prepared me for the upside-down towers of the Western Air Temple.

We arrived at the harbor only three days after Fire Nation Waters. However, we had a quite a climb ahead of us. Since we had stayed a bit longer than we had planned in the Fire Nation, we only had a day or two at the Air Temple, so we didn't have much luggage to bring with us and the crew stayed behind with the ship. I couldn't get all my excitement out and I practically skipped up the mountain. Arin, while she didn't share all of my enthusiasm, certainly was excited as well. Or at least, reinvigorated by the slightly cooler air up in the mountains.

"Look up!" I squealed pointing overhead as I turned behind me to look at Arin and Shil Hevat who were slowly lagging behind me during our ascent. "Is it a dragon?"

"No." panted Shil Hevat as he and Arin reached me. "It's a bison."

He was right. It was much too wide to be a dragon. It was big and furry and white, and it slowly came closer to us, diving down with surprising grace for a creature of its size. A young woman was riding it. It landed beside us sending up a cloud of dust. For a worried moment, I wondered if the suddenness of the landing and the dust would set Arin off again, but it didn't, though her face was very pale.

"Travelers- state your name." she commanded. I noticed the arrows on her forehead and remembered how they looked elegant and almost demanded respect. Her brown hair was short and flowed behind her. The bison growled.

"Shil Hevat." Answered Shil Hevat. "We are being expected by Kelisiting." The woman examined us very carefully as if checking to make sure we weren't lying.

"Shil Hevat…" she pursed her lips. "Very well, you may board." Shil Hevat helped us into the saddle of the bison and then hopped up after us.

"Thank you." He said. The bison took off, shooting straight up into the air and soaring above the mountains. Arin looked scared and clung to me. I had never felt more exhilarated. Shil Hevat grinned at me.

"So you like flying, Rika?" he asked. I nodded happily. "Me too."

"I don't." commented Arin unnecessarily. The bison turned sharply and began to descend. Below us, above us, and even flying right next to us, I could see girls everywhere, flowing brown hair, and yellow and orange robes. We landed in what I guessed must be a sort of bison stable. The woman helped us down and took us to what looked like the main temples. We passed fountains that made our fountain at home seem tiny. Everyone stared as we walked past. We couldn't have looked more out of place. All around us were girls who looked so much alike that it was almost unnerving. They all had light skin—though not as pale as Shil Hevat's—and hair that was as long as Arin's and mine, but more brown than ours. They also wore their hair differently, too, I observed. Most of them wore their hair down, or in a simple braid, whereas mine and Arin's were intricately braided and put in buns.

The woman opened a giant, intricately carved door, to reveal a large hall where several women were sitting, quietly discussing something. They all looked up when we entered. I recognized some. One stood and strode towards us. I remembered her. She bowed with a small smile on her face.

"Shil Hevat." She said.

"Kelisiting." He bowed in return.

"You're late." She replied flatly. He grinned guiltily.

"We got held up in the Fire Nation. We stayed a bit longer than we had originally planned to." He explained. "I hope you don't mind."

She sighed as if this was quite troubling to her. "No, I don't. Only for you." She turned to the women behind her. "Can you please show them to where they will be rooming?" They rose quietly and elegantly. We climbed up higher into the seemingly upside down buildings. We had one room with three small mats and a large window.

"Dinner is served at sundown." The Air Nomad woman informed us closing the door behind her. We settled down to relax for an hour or so. It had been an exhausting climb up into the mountains.

"When are we gonna see Yangchen?" I asked. Arin was half asleep already, Shil Hevat was sitting against the wall, looking calmly out the window.

"Maybe we'll see her at dinner." He replied. "Try to relax now, Rika."

"Okay." I mumbled. I tried to settle down, reminding myself that if I slept the time would pass quicker. I closed my eyes. Before long, I was awake again, heading down into the temple which was lit by delicate lanterns scattered every few feet. The women ate at a long table. The food was very different from the Fire Nation food of the previous week. It was much blander, and there was no meat. In the Fire Nation, all the food had been very spicy. I preferred the Air Nomad food, I decided. Throughout the meal, I glanced down the table looking for Yangchen. All the children ate at the far end of the table, though, and the memory of her appearance was three years old and a little vague in my head. When they had finished eating, and the table had been cleared, Kelisiting stood and raised her hands. The room almost instantly fell silent.

"Thank you everyone for this wonderful feast." She said loudly. "We have guests tonight. Shil Hevat of the Fire Nation." Shil Hevat stood and waved. "And Princess Arin, and her cousin Rika of the Water Tribe." Arin waved happily, smirking that she had been referred to as a princess. I rose more timidly giving a small wave. I took the opportunity to completely survey the table. Many pairs of grey and brown eyes stared back at me from pink faces and under brown hair but I didn't know which one was Yangchen. I knew she had to be there. The moment passed and I sat back down in my chair.

After dinner, Arin and I were sent to get ready to sleep. Shil Hevat did not come with us, though but he assured us that we'd be getting an exclusive tour of the palace the next day. I was disappointed. I wanted to find Yangchen, but it was clear Arin and I did not have a choice of what to do. Arin didn't argue. Despite her nap earlier, she was still tired. We washed in a small fountain with several other young Air Nomad girls but none were Yangchen. These girls were all younger and like us were assigned an early bedtime. They examined our hair curiously as we brushed and braided it. Finally, Arin and I headed back up to our room.

"Arin." I whispered as we settled down next to each other. It was shockingly relieving to be sleeping in a room so close to Arin again.

"Yeah." She replied. She turned over in her little sleeping bag to face me but in the dark of the room, we could barely see each other. The only light was the tiny sliver of newly risen moon coming in from the window.

"Where do you think Yangchen was during dinner?"

"I dunno." Yawned Arin. "She was probably there and we didn't see her. All the girls looked so much alike."

In the dark, I frowned. "But we came here to see her. Isn't it sort of peculiar that we haven't seen her yet?"

"I guess." Replied Arin softly. "Why are you acting so obsessed with her?"

"I'm not." I protested, but I sort of knew it to be true. "I just was so excited to see her, and…" I trailed off. Arin had shifted in her sleeping bag and judging by her breathing she sounded like she had just about drifted off to sleep already. I turned over in my sleeping bag and tried to get comfortable. I closed my eyes and found my body relaxing.

"Psst! Rika." Something nudged me in the back.

"Arin?" I mumbled sleepily.

"No, dummy." Whispered the voice. I opened my eyes and peered up at the silhouette above me. The person leaned closer to me so that we were face to face.

"Yangchen…" as realization dawned upon me, I sat up quickly, my senses rapidly returning to me. She reached out a hand to help me get to my feet. "How'd you get in here?" I glanced around. Shil Hevat, I observed, had not returned, and Arin was still fast asleep. She could sleep through anything. Judging by the moon high in the sky, I guessed an hour or so had passed.

"How d'ya think? I flew, obviously." She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Grab your coat and let's go." I grabbed it and buttoned it up quickly.

"What about Arin?" I whispered as I hesitantly followed her towards the window.

"Do you want to bring her?" asked Yangchen.

I sighed looking down at my sleeping cousin. "No. I guess not." I turned to Yangchen. "Let's go."

"Careful." She warned. "The ledge is about ten feet down so we've got to jump." I looked at her nervously. "Don't worry. I'll go first." She hopped over the window edge effortlessly and disappeared below. I peered down at her. She had landed neatly on her feet. "Are you coming or not?" I glanced back over my shoulder.

"What happens if Shil Hevat comes back and I'm not here?"

"Nothing's gonna happen." She put her hands on her hips. "I promise."

"Okay." I whispered. I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment then opened them again as I jumped. I landed on my feet, but my knees gave way and I fell backwards onto my butt. Yangchen giggled as she pulled me to my feet again.

"We're gonna have to jump along here to get to my room." Explained Yangchen. "I can usually make it by myself but I've never tried while holding another person, so we'll see how this turns out."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring."

"Well what's the worst that could happen? We'll fall into the abyss." She laughed crazily and we began our first jump. We barely made it across, nearly being pushed backwards by the cold mountain winds. The next jump was not much better. The third my feet slipped and I nearly tumbled off but Yangchen managed to grab my hand at the last moment and tug me back onto the roof where I was safe. We were almost spotted by a group of women walking along one of the open pathways of the temple.

"Nearly there." She whispered. "It's only a little further. No more jumps across, now only down." That wasn't much better, in my opinion. Flying with Bansi and Bae had seemed so safe in comparison. We slid down a few more angled ledges until we were back on the lowest level of the temple (which, admittedly, was still very, very high). We crouched behind a column as some women walked by then tiptoed behind them, taking a turn down a quieter hallway. She stopped suddenly and I almost knocked into her.

"Are we there?" I asked her.

"Shush." She hissed. "Stand back. I've got to use airbending for this door." I obeyed and watched with interest as Yangchen aimed several gusts of wind at it. It swung open and we both went inside. It revealed a small staircase which she sprinted up. I did my best to keep up with her. It went around and around. At the top, I discovered, there was another staircase going down.

"Why are we going back down now?" I asked as I followed her down.

"Because remember all those upside buildings?" I nodded. "That's where my room is. They're filled with individual chambers for the airbenders residing here." We walked down past different doors on each side. Yangchen chose one and opened it with some more airbending. She held the door open and I walked in as she closed the door behind us.

"Welcome, to my little room." She said. It was quite little. There was a small comfortable looking hammock stretched across a whole side of the room, and a small clothes chest. There was no window so she lit a small torch with a piece of flint and steel. In the light I could finally examine her clearly for the first time since we met.

Her hair was the first thing I noticed. It was shorter and neater and it was shaved very far back on her head though she didn't wear the arrows yet. She was taller and skinnier as if all her baby fat had finally left her and though she was the same age as Arin, she seemed more mature. But I noticed that she still didn't possess that elegance of the older Air Nomads though she contained an air of powerful confidence that was genuinely enviable. She put her hands on her hips and I could tell that she was analyzing my changes as well. She sat back on her hammock and rocked on it for a moment before speaking.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked.

"It's nice." I answered truthfully. "I'd love having my own room at home."

"I could imagine." She giggled then she jumped up causing her hammock to twist over and over behind her. "Wanna see where I keep your letters?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. I had always wondered what she did with them. She ran past me and I whirled around to see that she was opening the trunk behind me. For a moment I thought she would disappear into the deep trunk but she came back up holding a small wooden box. It was rectangular and about six inches long. The box looked beat up as if Yangchen wasn't the first one who had used it. It was decorated with all sorts of different carvings that I wondered if Yangchen had done herself. Some of the carvings were embellished with different pieces of colored stone. It opened with a small creak as Yangchen handed it to me.

"See?" I saw all the crinkled papers in it and I recognized my handwriting. "One of the older women gave me the box. Isn't it perfect?"

"Yeah…" trailed off as I delicately picked up one of my letters and unfolded it. "I never realized I had written so many."

Yangchen laughed. "You're an excellent writer. Did you know that? Much better than me." I blushed as I put the letter back in the box. "We have to do a lot of writing instruction here, and nothing I ever wrote to you was ever as good."

"I like your box." I mumbled in a lame response. "I just kept your letters in a drawer at home all bundled together."

"Well, I haven't written half as many as you have." She countered. I handed her the box back and she placed it delicately in the trunk. "So now where to?"

I shrugged. "You know this place better than I do." We were about to leave when the door swung open nearly knocking into us in the tiny room.

"Yangchen." One of the women stood in the doorway. I could see Shil Hevat behind her. I glanced over my shoulder at Yangchen who shrugged with a guilty grin on her face.

"I thought you said I wouldn't get in trouble!" I hissed at her.

"You're not in trouble." Rumbled Shil Hevat but that was hard to believe judging by the look on the woman's face. "Come alone Rika." I walked past the woman sulkily.

"Why weren't you at dinner, again?" I heard the woman reprimanding Yangchen behind me.

"Didn't feel like it." Yangchen answered a moment before I heard the door slam. Shil Hevat and I walked down the hallway and down the stairs.

"So I'm not in trouble?" I asked him as we continued towards our room. He shrugged.

"Who am I to stop you?" he replied. "I'm just here because I promised your parents and would make sure you stay safe during this journey, so when I come back to the room and realize there's only one little girl there, I'm sorry I worried a bit."

I felt bad now. "No, you don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have snuck out. I'm sorry." I let him hold my hand in an almost fatherly way as we walked back to the room we were staying in. "Do you think that Yangchen will be in too much trouble?"

"I'll speak to her superiors, but I don't think she will be." He answered. "She's a very remarkable girl." I didn't quite understand the comment at the time but now I believe he was referring to the fact that she would be the avatar. I suppose that by now, only two years before her sixteenth birthday, the older women were sure of her destiny. "She's used to getting out of trouble-situations." Shil Hevat clarified. I nodded. "She'll probably be able to give us the tour tomorrow."

Shil Hevat was right. Yangchen was wide awake the next morning to join us at breakfast.

"I'm off the hook," she whispered to me, "as long as I don't skip any more meals. I'd already skipped four already this week. Just wasn't hungry, that's not my fault. But according to the elders meals are sacred together-time or some nonsense so skipping them, even if I'm not hungry, is sacrilegious or something." She rolled her eyes and helped herself to a piece of bread. "Hi Arin!" she waved at Arin who was sitting on our other side. Arin waved reluctantly. We had not given her the full details of the previous night but she seemed pretty bitter that I had snuck out without including her. Part of me felt that she deserved being left out, and the other part of me longed for her pardon. But, knowing Arin if I apologized she would probably act as if it didn't matter much to her anyway and write Yangchen and me off as just being childish. There was no way I could win.

Yangchen and another girl who was a bit older than her named Ilma lead us in the tour. We walked up and down the narrow cliff faces and across tiny stone bridges. We passed statues of previous Air Nomad women, all were huge and beautiful in a strange, intimidating way. They all sat in a line with carved stone eyes, painted blue arrows, and flowing brown painted hair, sitting peacefully with their legs crossed while their elegant orange robes flowed around them. It was hard to believe that they had been hand carved out of the mountain hundreds of years ago. We also walked past murals. I was mystified by the brightly colored scenes of bison and Air Nomads—both men and women—flying around the world. We also walked by the nursery where the very young children lived. Both boys and girls were there, I noticed, all being taken care of by motherly looking Air Nomads. Last, we visited the bison stables. I got to pet a baby bison and it was very adorable. We finished the tour right just in time to attend lunch.

"Want to meet my friends after this?" Yangchen muttered to me.

"I'll probably have to ask Shil Hevat this time." I said between mouthfuls of a delicious vegetable salad. "Do we take Arin?" We both looked at her. She was sitting on Shil Hevat's other side conversing with Ilma.

Yangchen shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to ask her. She'll probably decline anyway." Indeed she did, and lunch was barely over when Yangchen and I were dashing off to the other side of the table where the other girls were sitting.

"Hey, everyone!" Yangchen waved. They all greeted her. She seemed popular among them.

"Who's that?" asked one as the group started heading towards another part of the temple.

"That's the Water Tribe girl that was introduced last night." Snapped another.

"This is Rika, and she's my best friend." Declared Yangchen. The girls nodded and I blushed. "She's from the Water Tribe all the way in the South Pole so let's show her how Air Nomads have fun." The other girls cheered and I was quite literally blown over by their enthusiasm.

"Did you really mean what you said to the girls earlier?" I asked Yangchen several hours later. It was dusk, a half hour before dinner, and we were sitting on the highest ledge of the temple which overlooked everything I had seen on the tour earlier and more. It gave a chilling view down into the chasm that separated the two halves of the temple which I had almost fallen into more times than I would have preferred to earlier playing with the other girls. In the distance, I could see the path which I had climbed up the previous day to reach here and would be climbing back down tomorrow when we left.

"Mean what?" yawned Yangchen as she took a bite of an apple. The gardens of the temple were filled with blossoming apple trees. I had already finished mine.

"That I was your best friend."

She said nothing for a moment as she noisily chewed her apple. She took another huge bite and finished it up then tossed it down, down into the abyss below. We watched it disappear. "Yes." She finally said. "I did mean it. Why?"

"It's just that…" I didn't know how to explain it.

"Am I not your best friend?" she inquired. Her voice was surprisingly calm and non accusatory.

"No, you are." I assured her. Now that I thought about it, she really was. "I mean, I tell you everything in my letters, all my secrets, how I feel about things, things I don't even tell Arin. Isn't that what best friends are for? That's what I think anyway."

"And I agree." Said Yangchen.

"We'll always be friends right? Maybe if we're not always best friends, but still friends…" I trailed off again.

"No. Best friends, I promise." She said. "You have to write to me as soon as you reach the North Pole so I can know that I can come and see you there."

"I will." I promised. "And you need to write to me."

"Always." And like before, those years ago, she stood and bowed and as before, I did the same.


	8. Chapter 8

I return! :) What can I say? Korra news has made me excited about A:tLA again.

* * *

III. North Pole

1.

I felt like a sleepwalker. Everything after we left the Western Air Temple happened so fast that I felt like in the span of a single moment I had gone from saying goodbye to Yangchen to standing in front of the entire Northern royal court being presented by Shil Hevat. Arin and I held hands tightly as we looked up at the chief and his advisors who in turn leered down at us.

"This," Shil Hevat indicated us, "is Arin, daughter of the Southern chief, and this is Rika, his niece." I tried not to show how intimidated I was when all the Northerners examined me.

"I am Chief Mituk." Responded the Northern chief. He was fairly young—younger than my father—and the only kind face that I could see. The others in the council were very stern or almost very angry looking. I was terrified. I longed to back on the boat with the friendly, familiar crewmembers. In the months we had travelled, that boat had begun to feel almost like home. Now, here I was, a foreigner.

"We have long awaited their arrival." Chief Mituk went on, "And we thank you, Shil Hevat, for bringing them here safely."

"It was my pleasure." Grinned Shil Hevat.

"We invite you stay for the banquet tonight in the palace." Added Chief Mituk. "As a way for us to express our gratitude."

"I would be honored." Shil Hevat bowed.

"Now, please, will someone show the girls to their rooms?" asked Chief Mituk. "They must be cleaned up and they will need help settling into their new home." Out of nowhere, two servants appeared at our sides. They helped us carry our belongings up to two lavish rooms high up in the palace. I found that I liked my room. It wasn't too big, but I had a nice bed and a balcony on which I could see the whole city. My room was connected to Arin's by a washroom with heated, running water. I washed my face, changed my clothes, and brushed my hair. In the mirror, I looked at myself. I looked exhausted but I didn't have time to relax. Once Arin and I were made presentable, we were shown off to the citizens of the North Pole. A giant crowd had gathered in front of the palace as Arin and I stood on a platform out in front of them. The crowd seemed even more hostile than the council earlier. There were some grumbling shouts and a few people had to be subdued by giant palace guards. Chief Mituk made a long speech about peace and harmony between the two tribes and how Arin and I personified that mission. It was so dull that I could barely stay awake during it and Arin had to keep pinching me to keep me from nodding off. Everyone in the North Pole was watching me and judging me. The least I could do was pretend to be alert and interested. I would only get one first impression with them. I was incredibly thankful when Arin and I were brought back inside and allowed to finally take a nap.

At night, I discovered that the icy city sparkled from a million lit lanterns. I could have spent hours standing on the balcony in my room staring at it, but I was soon summoned to dinner in a dining hall that was nearly as magnificent. A long table filled with more food than I had ever seen. A waterfall fell softly and comfortingly in the background as servants bustled back and forth serving everyone. Shil Hevat, Arin, and I were the guests of honor that night and we sat in the middle of the table. Many people walked up to us, not to say anything, but just to look at us. It was almost as if they didn't believe we were real. Like we were frauds, sent by the South as a trick. But we were genuine and Arin and I smiled our most charming smiles. We were on our best behavior. Everyone else seemed to be on their best behavior, too, though I could not help but get the feeling that after they grinned and greeted us, they were whispering about us as soon as they thought they were out of our earshot.

After dinner, we were treated to a performance of dancers. They were mesmerizing. Some of them were waterbenders and they framed the graceful dancers with arcs of shimmering water. I was completely hypnotized by it. Dancing, explained Chief Mituk, was one of the most important forms of art in the North. In addition, it was very dear to him personally. He had danced as a younger man and now—here I detected a hint of pride in his voice—his son danced, too. Indeed, the prince was the star of the show. His movements were as fluid as his waterbending. Afterwards, Arin and I were introduced to him.

"Arin, Rika," said Chief Mituk, "this is my son, Keon." Keon was a handsome boy, but he had a slightly haughty look to him that I immediately disliked. He was a year older than me, it turned out, but he looked older. He was very tall and muscular. Arin, it seemed, liked him. She blushed coquettishly as they were introduced and in response, Keon grinned at her.

Gross! I thought.

"You're a terrific waterbender." Said Arin. We had moved from the dining hall into a lounge room to talk and get to know each other. We were alone, just the three of us, and it felt strangely quiet after the noise and excitement of dinner.

"Thank you." he replied. "I practice so much. It only makes sense that I'm good."

"I practice a lot, too." Arin said quickly. "The entire journey from home was by boat so there was lots of water to practice with."

"That's nice." Said Keon dismissively. "What about you?"

"I'm not one." I mumbled.

"Oh." Said Keon. After that, he completely ignored me to talk to Arin. That was just as well. I was exhausted and overwhelmed and I didn't like him very much. I was not desperate for his attention as Arin seemed to be.

The next day (and the subsequent days, as I would soon discover) would not be as exciting as that first night. The palace was empty and quiet and not unlike my home in the South Pole. I ventured around: first with Arin and then just by myself. Arin had better things to do, she told me. She was going to tour the city with Keon and several others to look for a waterbending instructor. She couldn't learn with Keon and his teacher, we learned, because he only taught boys. Waterbending was different for men and women here. I was invited to go with them but upon learning the purpose of the trip, I immediately declined and instead sulked around the palace alone and envious.

Shil Hevat and the waterbenders on the boat left without much fanfare. I said a simple goodbye to him and I found myself tearing up a little when we hugged. He let me keep the Pai Sho board, saying that I won it from him in one of our games. I didn't recall that but I thanked him anyway and I felt honored that he would let me have it. I didn't feel truly sad until I saw the Southern boat disappear into the distant ocean. Now, Arin and I were the only Southerners in the North Pole. It was overwhelming. She seemed upset, too, but she wouldn't admit it.

Dull days turned to dull weeks and though I took brief daytrips into the city, I still felt like a tourist. They only showed us the main, popular places to go and I didn't feel like I knew the city very well. If I was going to be living here for the next four years, I figured, it should at least feel like home. Nonetheless, I lingered in the palace, alone and apprehensive and bored. Arin spent a lot of her time practicing her waterbending or spending time with her new friends and I didn't want anything to do with Keon. The adults in the palace were working and they, for the most part, didn't want anything to do with me except for perhaps once or twice a week when the higher-ups would request Arin's and my presence at dinner for no reason other than to act like we were being diplomatic and important and then send word back to our families about it. They spoke to us cordially, but I never really got the feeling that they liked us all that much, except from Chief Mituk who was always friendly and smiling.

Eventually, someone decided that Arin and I should continue our schooling that we had all but abandoned after leaving home. That filled my days. It was interesting learning things in the North because they had a different perspective than we had in the South. Our teacher was a lot nicer than our teacher at home and I took a liking to her and for the first time in my life, I enjoyed our schooling. Arin resented it. Keon was indifferent, but he was a know-it-all and gaped at us in incredulous disbelief when we proved to be lacking in North Pole history. He was annoying to learn with and ruined for me what was otherwise an enjoyable experience.

The schooling filled my days a couple times a week, but for the other days, I felt empty and purposeless. I wrote to Yangchen a lot, but many of the letters were almost journal-like, as if I didn't really intend to send them to her. They were more personal than anything before. I filled them with emotions and random thoughts rather than telling her what was going on because, truth be told, not much did. All in all, I wasn't really sure if sending them to her was even possible. After about a month, I approached Chief Mituk about it and he promised that as soon as the next time Air Nomads visited, he would be sure to tell me.

After speaking to his father, I ran into Keon.

"What were you doing?" he asked me accusatorily.

"I just had to ask Chief Mituk a question." I answered. I tried to walk by him but he wouldn't leave me alone.

"About what?"

"It's none of your business." I snapped. He got around me and stood in front of me. When I tried to go around him, he stepped to the side. He was a lot bigger than me. I stopped attempting to go past him and crossed my arms. "What?"

"I asked you what you were talking to my father about."

"I told you that it was none of your business."

"I think if you told my father you could tell me."

"Well, if your father thinks you should know it, then maybe he'll tell you."

"My father never tells me anything. And I want you to tell me."

"You're out of luck then." I tried to shove past him now but he wouldn't budge.

"You better be careful," he chuckled, "if it seems like we get in a fight, we could ruin the peace between our tribes." I ignored him and shoved him again but he just laughed. "I thought you were supposed to be a 'peaceful' diplomat."

"I am!" I protested. "I just thought you were supposed to be an accommodating host."

We both glared at each other after that. Neither of us had anything to say. I was secretly pleased that I had been able to come up with such a good comeback. Our last few confrontations had ended with me embarrassed and angry.

"Where's your sister?" he finally asked.

"Arin is my cousin."

"Right. Where is she?"

I shrugged. "I haven't seen her all day." And I hadn't. It was noon and she had been sleeping when I got up and I assumed she still was. "Why do you want to know where she is?"

"Because I'm lonely and I'd like to talk to someone _intelligent_." I was out of clever responses.

"Can you just leave me alone, then?"

"Fine." He stepped aside and I strode past him as quickly as I could. My hands were shaking I was so angry. This had been the third time this week he'd harassed me for no real reason and I had had it.

I walked and walked without knowing where I was going. All I knew was that I had to get as far away from Keon as I possibly could.

I ended up in a quiet library somewhere in the depths of the palace. I found paper and pen and ink and began to write.

_Yangchen_, I scribbled, _I am so angry right now_.

_ I don't know how I am supposed to last another second here. I am so unhappy. Every day is so boring. I have nothing to do. I know I've written to you so many times but this time is different. You don't have to read all those other letters. They're boring compared to this._

_ I just got into a fight with Keon. I have hardly been here a month and I already hate him. How am I supposed to spend the next four years living in the same house as him? He makes my skin crawl. He does things just to make me angry like standing in my way or asking me stupid questions that I can't answer. He thinks he's so much better than me when he's not. He thinks I am so dumb. He hates me, too, I think. I don't know what I am going to do about him. I want to kill him!_

I paused in writing for a moment. I couldn't believe what I had just written and I couldn't believe that I truly meant it! If Keon had followed me into that room I probably would have stood up and punched him in the face.

_He likes Arin, though_. I wrote next._ He really likes her. They waterbend together even though they're not supposed to because women are supposed to do their waterbending separately from men. The only time Keon is even the slightest bit nice to me is when he's asking me where Arin is. Usually Arin is out, though. She has made a lot of new friends through her waterbending classes. I haven't made any friends. I'm lonely. I wish you could visit me. I wish I could stay with you instead of staying here. But, it's my duty to be here so I won't complain anymore. _

_ I have calmed down a lot, now. I guess this is all I have to write. I'm sure I'll end up writing to you ten more times before I have the opportunity to actually send anything to you._

_ Always,_

_ Rika._

I reread the letter feeling disappointed with it. I felt empty now. I folded up the letter and put it in my pocket. The library was very quiet and there were many scrolls and books but nothing there interested me. I sat down in between two of the shelves and cried.

I wanted to go home. I hated myself for wanting to go here and I hated everyone around me. I sobbed and sobbed. I didn't think I could ever feel worse than I felt at that moment. I felt like I was at the bottom of a well, stuck in a hole looking up at a tiny pinprick of light that was miles above my head. There was no escape and no way out. I thought, at that time, that that had to be what being a prisoner with no hope of escape felt like. The funny thing is, when I actually was a prisoner, I didn't cry half as much.

Arin found me eventually. I had for the most part been able to pull myself together by then, but it was obvious that I had been upset. Arin, for as long as I'd known her, had never been one to sympathize with me. If I cried, she called me a baby. If I wanted my mom, she told me to grow up. But at this time, I think there was something wrong with her, too, because she sat with me without saying anything. She put her arm around me and I cried a little bit more.

"I want to go home." I told her.

"Why?" she asked. "There's so much to do here. You just have to find it." I wanted to point out that she had lots of things to do as a waterbender, but I didn't. She hugged me. "I'll help you."

"You will?"

"Of course. Now clean yourself up, you look terrible, and let's get some food." I nodded as she helped me up briskly reverting back to her what was more of her usual self. I'd soon find that what I was thought her 'usual' self was beginning to change. Arin was fourteen and beginning to mature a lot quicker than I would realize. She was always so much older to me, but now she was nearly an adult and her childish brattiness was gradually beginning to fade away. We spent the rest of the day together and didn't see Keon at all during it and that night, we put her bed into my room and we went back to sharing a room. I had never been happier for her company.

I miss her, now. I wish we had spent more time together when we could.


End file.
